Caol Ila 12: stand-in 1 · The Whisky Desk

The Whisky Desk

@thewhiskydesk · 2026-10-29 · from the Caol Ila desk

If you reach for Caol Ila 12, Bowmore 12 gives you about 98% of what it does for 96% of the price, landing at $95 for members, with tropical fruit, sweet smoke and a touch of brine on top. Worth a pour. The full story on Caol Ila 12 is in this week's piece.

257/280 · sources · mergedmay_publish truequality passsite_publish trueprices: 3 price claim(s) verified live

Sources

Prices at Dan Murphy's as of 2026-10-29 (29 October 2026); vintage 2026-10-29.1; bottles: Caol Ila 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL, Highland Park 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL, Bowmore 12 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL.
Caol Ila 12 price this week: $99 (price.ticket)
Caol Ila 12 360° low (like for like): $77 (price_360.seats)
Caol Ila 12 360° high (like for like): $101 (price_360.seats)
Caol Ila 12 broad-liking band: 19% (dyadic.appeal.pctile)
Bowmore 12 for a Caol Ila 12 drinker: 98% (stand_ins.alternatives.share_of_ref)
Bowmore 12 price as a share of Caol Ila 12: 96% (stand_ins.alternatives.share_of_price)
Bowmore 12 price this week: $95 (price.ticket)
Bowmore 12 usual price: $102 (price_guide.usual)
Bowmore 12 lowest seen: $95 (price_guide.seen_low)
Bowmore 12 highest seen: $110 (price_guide.seen_high)
Highland Park 12 for a Caol Ila 12 drinker: 94% (stand_ins.alternatives.share_of_ref)
Highland Park 12 price as a share of Caol Ila 12: 91% (stand_ins.alternatives.share_of_price)
Highland Park 12 price this week: $90 (price.ticket)
Caol Ila 12 per standard drink: $4.17 (price.ticket / standard drinks)
Highland Park 12 per standard drink: $4.07 (price.ticket / standard drinks)
Bowmore 12 per standard drink: $4.30 (price.ticket / standard drinks)
a pint at the pub, per standard drink (about $13 a pint, about 2 standard drinks): $6.28 (PUB_PINT)
a pint at the pub: $13 (PUB_PINT)
Caol Ila 12: standard drinks in the bottle: about 24
Highland Park 12: standard drinks in the bottle: about 22
Bowmore 12: standard drinks in the bottle: about 22
under a pint at the pub, per standard drink: Caol Ila 12, Highland Park 12 and Bowmore 12
over a pint at the pub, per standard drink: none

Omissions

None recorded.

Notes for reviewer

None recorded.

Frontmatter as merged

{
 "date": "2026-10-29",
 "title": "Caol Ila 12: stand-in 1",
 "angle": "article-cut",
 "shape": "post",
 "masthead": "the-whisky-guy",
 "status": "draft",
 "may_publish": true,
 "generator": "new",
 "artefact_id": "2026-10-29-cycle/article-cut/caol-ila-12-year-old-single-malt-scotch-whisky-700ml-highlan-df628c",
 "grounded_on": "2026-10-29.1",
 "subjects": [
  "Caol Ila 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL",
  "Highland Park 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL",
  "Bowmore 12 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL"
 ],
 "claims": [
  {
   "item": "Caol Ila 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL",
   "kind": "price",
   "value": 99,
   "basis": "member",
   "stockcode": "786920"
  },
  {
   "item": "Highland Park 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL",
   "kind": "price",
   "value": 90,
   "basis": "member",
   "stockcode": "73487"
  },
  {
   "item": "Bowmore 12 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL",
   "kind": "price",
   "value": 95,
   "basis": "member",
   "stockcode": "132580"
  }
 ],
 "score": 2600,
 "news": [
  {
   "item": "Caol Ila 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL",
   "trigger": "member_offer",
   "pct": 28.3,
   "member": 99,
   "list": 137.99
  },
  {
   "item": "Caol Ila 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL",
   "trigger": "beats_liquorland",
   "pct": 17.5,
   "dm_price": 99,
   "dm_basis": "member",
   "ll_price": 120
  }
 ],
 "seed": 2604412601,
 "plan_n": 11,
 "plan_day": "Thu",
 "plan_source": "cut from the article",
 "writer": "claude -p --output-format json",
 "tries": 1,
 "passed_on_try": 1,
 "needs_a_person": false,
 "checks": {
  "required facts": true,
  "no invented reason": true,
  "Australian spelling": true,
  "machine habits": true,
  "proofread": true,
  "reluctance": true,
  "post plan": true,
  "no causal claims": true,
  "invented flavours": true,
  "swap reasons": true,
  "banned words": true,
  "length": true,
  "comparisons": true,
  "numbers traced": true,
  "like for like": true
 },
 "audience": "public",
 "written_by": "model",
 "site_publish_share": true,
 "site_share_pct": 50,
 "verified_at": "2026-10-29T10:49:29.000Z",
 "verified_by": "etl/price_verify.py",
 "verified_prices": {
  "73487": {
   "value": 90,
   "basis": "member"
  },
  "132580": {
   "value": 95,
   "basis": "member"
  },
  "786920": {
   "value": 99,
   "basis": "member"
  }
 },
 "verification_note": "3 price claim(s) verified live",
 "quality_gate": "pass",
 "gated_at": "2026-10-29T10:49:29.000Z",
 "site_publish": true,
 "quality_notes": "new generator: 15 of 15 checks passed"
}

premium over CE 360° · shared scale 0% to +70% across the eleven

Caol Ila 12

$137.99list 11-05

CE 360° $88.74 · 10.4% over · #4 of 16 in Islay

per standard drink $5.81 · #15 of 16 in Islay

64 pieces · observed

Highland Park 12

$108.99list 11-05

CE 360° $74.58 · 17.1% over · #3 of 9 in Islands

per standard drink $4.93 · #7 of 9 in Islands

23 pieces · observed

Bowmore 12

$109.99list 11-05

CE 360° $83.49 · 12.1% over · #7 of 16 in Islay

per standard drink $4.98 · #13 of 16 in Islay

40 pieces · observed

source file: drafts/2026-10-29-n11-article-cut-caol-ila-12-stand-in-1.md