1/Billy's on the fire, two bottles in the camp box. Old mate wanders over, swirls his glass. 'Pleasantly sweet, this. Good malt under it, a bit of summer fruit, dead easy to drink. What is it?' Tomatin 12, I tell him. $90 for members at Dan Murphy's. Twelve years old, 43%.
2/'You on the same?' he asks, nodding at my glass. Not quite. Deanston 12. Orange marmalade, shortbread dipped in honey, a little ginger and vanilla, peppery oak on the finish. 'Keeping the good stuff for yerself, eh.' Fair enough. That one's $112 this week.
3/Here's the thing, I say. Tomatin 12 gives a Deanston 12 drinker about 97% of what the Deanston 12 does, for 80% of its price. What you give up is mostly some strength. So Deanston 12 stays the one for its fans, and Tomatin 12 is the one for every other night.
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