The bottle nearly everyone nods at

Start with who likes it. Glengoyne 12 sits in the top 3% of bottles for how broadly it's liked. It fits nearly every foot near it: hand it to a sherry drinker, to a honey-and-fruit drinker, to someone who usually reaches for something gentler, and most of them will find a way in.

Now the part that puts the $89 in company. Ask the drinkers of the bottles closest to Glengoyne 12 what it would be worth to them, each starting from what they already pay for their own bottle, and the answers run from $95 to $147. At $89 for members it lands under every one of them. That makes it an easy yes, even for people who usually drink something else: you're paying below what its nearest company would hand over for the same whisky.

What you actually get for the money is Glengoyne's clean, unpeated maltiness, the house signature it's known for. Add a drop of water and the nose turns fragrant. The palate opens into apples and cherry pits, with anise and almond underneath. It's a straightforward, well-made Highland malt that doesn't ask much of the drinker.

If you fancy a move sideways, three bottles sit close.

Glengoyne 10, usually around $94, is the entry-level ten. Fresh and well-rounded on the nose, with malt, oak and a hint of sherry; smooth and slightly oaky on the palate, with cooking apples; a long, buttery, vanilla finish that slowly dries. To a Glengoyne 12 drinker it gives about 97% of what the 12 does, for 111% of its price. We've seen it from $88 to $99, and it's $99 this week.

Aberfeldy 12, around $104, leans floral and tropical: honey and vanilla, a slightly syrupy malt base, and a youthful orange marmalade finish with a touch of spice. To a Glengoyne 12 drinker, about 96% of the 12, at 117% of the price.

Glencadam 15, around $140, is the oldest of the three. Delicate and floral on the nose with cooking apples and white pepper; honey, vanilla, roasted chestnut and nutmeg across the palate; a medium finish of oak and ginger. To a Glengoyne 12 drinker, about 94% of the 12, at 157% of the price. We've seen it between $140 and $160.

As a pour at home, all three land under a pint at the pub per standard drink: Glencadam 15 at $5.51, Aberfeldy 12 at $4.71, Glengoyne 10 at $4.48, against about $6.28 for the same measure out of a $13 pint.

So, who's it for?

If Glengoyne 12 is already your bottle, $89 for members is this week's price and there isn't much to turn over. If you drink the 10 and have been eyeing a step up, the 12 gives you nearly all of what you know and a little more, for less this week than the 10 itself costs. If Aberfeldy 12 is your usual honey-and-fruit pour, you'll recognise the shape here and spend a few dollars less. And if you've owned none of them, this is the one most likely to land for you: broadly liked, and this week the least expensive of the four.