Hand a Macallan 12 Double Cask drinker a Dalmore 18 and they come away with about 90% of what they like. Run it the other way and the trade stalls: hand a Dalmore 18 drinker the Macallan and they'd put only 79% of their own bottle's price on it, marking it down mostly for being younger than theirs. The swap works going one way and not back.
1/If The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is your bottle, here's one for every other night: The Macallan 12 Double Cask, $137 at Dan Murphy's. To my palate it gives a Sherry Oak 12 drinker about 97% of what that bottle gives, for 81% of the price.
2/The Macallan 12 Double Cask, $137, twelve years old. American and European oak, both sherry-seasoned. On the nose, raisins, figs, hazelnuts, candied orange and some leather. The palate runs vanilla, ginger and white pepper, dark chocolate, more raisins. Warm, rich, long enough.
3/What a Sherry Oak 12 drinker gives up here is mostly some of the sherry and the dried fruit. That's it. The two sit remarkably close otherwise, which is the whole point of putting them side by side.
4/The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, $170, is still the one for its fans: that classic sherry and Christmas-cake nose, Jaffa oranges, a final hint of smoke. The 12 Double Cask is the one I'd reach for on every other night. Pour them next to each other sometime and see how near they land.
| slot | 08-13 | 08-20 | 08-27 | 09-03 | 09-10 | 09-17 | 09-24 | 10-01 | 10-08 | 10-15 | 10-22 | 10-29 | 11-05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list / member | 144.99 observed | 139.95 observed | 139.95 observed | 139.95 observed | 139.95 observed | 136.99 observed | 136.99 observed | 136.99 observed | 136.99 observed | 136.99 observed | 136.99 observed | 136.99 observed | 136.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 138.52 | 136.99 | 2.39 | 136.99 | 144.99 | 8.00 | 1.7% | 0.66 | 136.99 | 62 |
| member | 138.52 | 136.99 | 2.39 | 136.99 | 144.99 | 8.00 | 1.7% | 0.66 | 136.99 | 62 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 138.52 | 5.73 | 1.83 | 3.7 | 137.2 – 139.8 |
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 usually sells around $170. This week it's $160 at Dan Murphy's. In the glass: Christmas cake, jaffa oranges, old leather. Full and smooth, a long finish, a last hint of smoke. Want to know who else it suits? That's in this week's piece.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, poured after a long Tuesday: sherry, Christmas cake, old leather, a wisp of smoke. Want that without the full $160? The Macallan 12 Double Cask, $137, gives a Sherry Oak drinker 98% of it for 86% of the price. Fair swap? More in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfiddich 15 drinker The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 and they'd pay 68% of what their own bottle costs, a generous nod from a neighbour and reason enough to pour one yourself. The rest of the story waits in this week's piece on The Macallan Sherry Oak 12.
Christmas cake and Jaffa oranges, a little old leather, then a last hint of smoke: The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is one to pour slowly of an evening. This week it is $160 at Dan Murphy's; it usually sells around $170. More on where that price sits in this week's piece.
The odd part: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, at $105, hands a The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 drinker about 87% of what their own bottle gives, for 66% of its price. Honey, almonds, a touch of nutmeg. The rest of the story on The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is in this week's piece.
Like The Macallan Sherry Oak 12? Glenfiddich 15 gives you about 74% of what it does, for 87% of the price, at $140. Cooked plums and stewed rhubarb on the nose, then hedgerow fruit and a little grip on the palate. More on The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 in this week's piece.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, $105 at Dan Murphy's this week; it usually sells around $100. Floral and honeyed on the nose, then silky sherry, nutmeg and dried fruit, with a hint of orange drying out the long finish. Robust and elegant at once. More on it in this week's piece.
Handed The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, a Tamdhu 12 drinker would pay 73% of what their own bottle costs for it — close enough that the two sit as near neighbours rather than strangers. A fair hearing, then. Where would you land on it? The full read is in this week's piece.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 is $105 at Dan Murphy's this week, and from what I've seen it usually sells around $100. Honeyed, with sherry spice and a long orange finish. So this week sits a touch above the usual, a fair guide for where it lands. More on it in this week's piece.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, $170 at Dan Murphy's. The nose is all Christmas cake and sherry, dried fruit and old leather. Then jaffa oranges, brittle toffee, light oak, and a hint of smoke. The youngest of the Sherry Oak line, and the one this week's piece is built around.
I kept coming back to the orange in The Dalmore 12: tangerine, cocktail cherries, long dark chocolate. For a The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 drinker it lands at about 98% of the Macallan, for 88% of its price, at $149. More on the Macallan in this week's piece.
Hand a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 and they'd put up 66% of what their own bottle costs — marked down for being younger than theirs, though the sherry cake and old leather would still win them over. Who does it suit? That's the thread in this week's piece.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is $170 at Dan Murphy's this week, right about its usual mark; we've seen it between $158 and $170. A sherried after-dinner pour — Christmas cake, dried fruit, a hint of smoke on the finish — for the drinker who likes it rich. More in this week's piece.
Like The Macallan Sherry Oak 12? When I want candied orange peel and dark chocolate, I pour The Macallan 12 Double Cask, $137. It gives a Sherry Oak drinker about 97% of what they'd get, at 81% of the price. Try a glass. More in this week's piece.
Give The Macallan 12 Double Cask to someone who drinks the Dalmore 21 Malt and they'd put up 66% of what their own bottle costs, easing it down for the younger age. Two oaks, really: raisins, candied orange, a little leather. More in this week's piece.
The Macallan 12 Double Cask sits at $137 at Dan Murphy's this week, right where it tends to land. It usually sells around $137, and across what we've seen it's run from $137 to $145, so this week sits at the quiet end. More on The Macallan 12 Double Cask in this week's piece.
A price guide for the Tomintoul Seiridh Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish and the three single malts that sit closest to it. For each one: what it usually sells around, the range we've seen, and what a standard drink costs at this week's price. All sherry-finished or sherry-matured, all from the same stretch of the cabinet.
This is a price guide. We set The Macallan Double Cask 15 next to the three single malts closest to it, and show what each usually sells around, the range we've seen, and what a pour costs this week. Have a read, then draw your own line.
What does The Macallan Double Cask 15 usually cost, and what do the bottles nearest it ask? That's what this guide answers. It sets the 15 beside the three single malts closest to it: what each usually sells around, the range we've seen, and where this week lands. No grades, just numbers you can check against your own receipt.
Here is the short answer before the long one: the bottle most like The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, for less money, comes from the same still house. The Macallan 12 Double Cask, at $137, gives a Sherry Oak 12 drinker about 98% of what their own bottle does. Same family, same warmth, a little less at the counter.
Pour The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 on a slow evening and you get the Speyside house style in full. Floral first, then honey, oak and almonds on the nose. The palate is silky: spicy sherry, nutmeg, dried fruit. The finish runs quite long, a hint of orange under drying spices. Twelve years in ex-bourbon casks, nine months finished in Spanish oak oloroso sherry. Elegant, and robust with it.
310 bottles at Dan Murphy's can be priced per standard drink this week. Cheapest first: Grant's Triple Wood 1 litre at $1.99 a standard drink; the median is $4.16; Dalmore 21 Malt is the highest at $42.68. 235 of the 310 come in under a pint at the pub, which works out at $6.28 a standard drink.
305 bottles at Dan Murphy's can be priced per standard drink this week. Cheapest first: McAllister 1 litre at $2.00 a standard drink; the median is $4.03; Dalmore 21 Malt is the highest at $42.68. 228 of the 305 come in under a pint at the pub, which works out at $6.28 a standard drink.
Last Friday a mate stood at the counter in Dan Murphy's with a bottle of The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 in his hand, turning it over, half-deciding. He wanted to know what I'd put next to it. So here's what I told him, and a little more besides.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $169.99 | $133.20 | +36.79 |
| 2 | The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $99.95 | $132.00 | -32.05 |
| 3 | The Macallan Double Cask 15 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $377.99 | $131.99 | +246.00 |
| 4 | Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $139.99 | $124.54 | +15.45 |
| 5 | GLENFIDDICH 12YO SHERRY CASK FINISH 700ML | $136.99 | $123.63 | +13.36 |
| 6 | The Macallan Double Cask 18 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $635.99 | $122.70 | +513.29 |
| 7 | Mortlach The Wee Witchie 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL | $158.66 | $119.69 | +38.97 |
| 8 | The Balvenie 12 Year Old American Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $99.00 | $117.62 | -18.62 |
| 9 | Craigellachie CRAIGELLACHIE® 13 YO Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $110.99 | $113.97 | -2.98 |
| 10 | Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $105.00 | $113.55 | -8.55 |