Here is the short version, and it stays true all the way down: the bottle nearest to Dewar's 15 for less money is its own younger sibling. Dewar's 12 is $69, and to a Dewar's 15 drinker it does about 97% of what the 15 does. Same house, same double ageing, a few dollars saved. If you came for a headline, that is it.
What you're pouring
Dewar's 15 is a blended Scotch, fifteen years old, double aged. The nose leads with vanilla and soft fruit: melon, banana, apple, a twist of orange. There's a slightly woody edge underneath it all, the kind that keeps the sweetness honest. It's an easy, rounded dram rather than a loud one.
1/Fancy the Dewar’s 18 but wondering what tastes most like it for less to pour? That bottle is Chivas Regal XV 15. It gives a Dewar’s 18 drinker about 89% of what the Dewar’s 18 itself does, and it manages all of that for 68% of the price.
2/In the glass the Dewar’s 18 is sweet and creamy, toasted barley and buttered toast with toffee and roasted almonds. The Chivas Regal XV 15 runs luxurious and dark-fruited, marmalade and cinnamon buns over toffee. Both reviews share toffee, almonds and spices.
3/This week the Dewar’s 18 is $131 at Dan Murphy's while the Chivas Regal XV 15 is $89, so the saving sits right there beside the flavour. A yes for each: stay with the Dewar’s 18 if it's your bottle, and reach for the Chivas Regal XV 15 when you fancy the change.
I kept coming back to the cinnamon buns on the nose, marmalade and almond just behind, before the palate turned to dark fruit and toffee, velvety smooth, cognac cask woven through. Chivas Regal XV 15, $89, it's in this week's piece. A dram for frosty nights — would it tempt you?
Drink Chivas Regal XV 15? The Chivas Regal 12, at $60, gives you about 95% of what it does for 67% of the price. Vanilla sponge, cut flowers, a little marzipan, an everyday pour. Save the XV 15 for a frosty night. More on it in this week's piece.
Hand a Dewar's 18 drinker the Chivas Regal XV 15 and they'd pay 83% of what their own bottle costs, mostly for it not being from the Highlands. That suits the Dewar's drinker after a softer, fruitier dram for frosty nights. More on the Chivas Regal XV 15 in this week's piece.
Chivas Regal XV 15 is $89. About 22 standard drinks in the bottle. That works out at $4.03 a pour at home. A pint at the pub runs about $6.28 a standard drink. More on the Chivas Regal XV 15 in this week's piece.
Chivas Regal XV 15: marmalade and cinnamon buns on the nose, dark fruit and toffee on a velvety palate, wood spice on the finish. It's $89 this week, about where it usually sells, and we've seen it from $86 to $89. More on it in this week's piece.
Marmalade, almond and cinnamon buns, then dark fruits and toffee rolling in velvety, with a little wood spice to close. The cognac cask sits politely beside the scotch, and I'd keep this one for frosty nights. Chivas Regal XV 15 is $89, and that's where this week's piece starts.
Love the Chivas Regal XV 15? The Chivas Regal 12 pours vanilla sponge, cut flowers and marzipan, and for $60 it gives a Chivas Regal XV 15 drinker about 95% of what that bottle does at 67% of its price. Pour one this winter and see — more in this week's piece.
Hand a Dewar's 18 drinker a glass of Chivas Regal XV 15 — marmalade, almond, those cinnamon buns on a frosty night — and they'd put it at 84% of what their own bottle sets them back, docking it mostly for not hailing from the Highlands. The rest is in this week's piece.
Chivas Regal XV 15 comes to $4.03 a pour at home, about 22 standard drinks in the $89 bottle. A pint at the pub sits nearer $6.28 a standard drink. If a quiet dram sounds like your evening, pour one and see. More in this week's piece on Chivas Regal XV 15.
Marmalade, almond and cinnamon buns, then dark fruits and toffee over a velvety palate: Chivas Regal XV 15 is $89 at Dan Murphy's this week, about where it usually sells, sitting between $86 and $89 whenever we've seen it. More on it in this week's piece.
Chivas Regal 18, $125 at Dan Murphy's. I get vanilla, almond slice and toffee on the nose, with a curl of pencil shavings. The palate turns to dark fudge, leather and raisin, then a warm, lengthy finish of oak and chocolate. More on it in this week's piece. Fancy a dram?
Here's what surprised me: a Chivas Regal 18 drinker gets about 93% of the Chivas Regal 18 from Chivas Regal XV 15, and it's $89 — 71% of the price. Marmalade, almond, cinnamon buns. I've put more on Chivas Regal 18 in this week's piece.
Give a Dewar's 18 drinker a Chivas Regal 18, all vanilla, toffee and sweet oak, and they'd pay about 83% of what their own bottle runs, marked down mostly for not being from the Highlands. Smooth and gentle is its lane. More in this week's piece on Chivas Regal 18.
Chivas Regal 18 works out at $5.66 a standard drink, a pour at home across about 22 in the bottle. A pint at the pub runs about $6.28 a standard drink. Vanilla, toffee, sweet oak, smooth and gradual. One for the unhurried sipper. More on it in this week's piece.
Soft smoke runs through these blends. Label 5 Premium Reserve 12 is the bright one. Astringent for a second, then banana, apple, barley sugar, a lick of burnt toast and toffee. Fresh and easy. $68 at Dan Murphy's. Give it a pour. More in this week's piece.
Like Label 5 Premium Reserve 12? Dimple 12 gives a Label 5 Premium Reserve 12 drinker about 99% of what that bottle does, at 79% of its price, sitting at $54 this week, with toffee, caramel and a slight citrus edge. More on Label 5 Premium Reserve 12 in this week's piece.
Hand a Dewar's 12 drinker the Label 5 Premium Reserve 12 and they'd put it at 89% of what their own bottle costs them. Close, not quite level, starting from what they already pay. The fuller read on Label 5 Premium Reserve 12 is waiting in this week's piece.
Soft smoke, banana and barley sugar, fresh and easy: that's Label 5 Premium Reserve 12, about 22 standard drinks in the bottle and $3.08 a pour at home, set against $6.28 a standard drink for a pint at the pub. The full tasting is in this week's piece.
Noticed Label 5 Premium Reserve 12 sitting at $68 at Dan's this week. It usually sells around $62, and I've seen it run from $62 to $68, so that's about the top of its range. Nothing to read into either way. More on it in this week's piece.
Like your Dewar's 15? Dewar's 12 hands a Dewar's 15 drinker about 97% of what the 15 gives, for 86% of the price, and it's $69 this week. Same family, a year shy. The rest is in this week's piece.
I handed a few Dewar's 12 drinkers a glass of Dewar's 15 the other night, just to see. They'd each pay about 87% of what their own bottle costs them for it. Not bad for a stranger's pour. Would you make the swap? The full story's in this week's piece on Dewar's 15.
Dewar's 15 is $80, around 22 standard drinks to the bottle, so a pour at home works out at about $3.62 a drink. A pint at the pub sits closer to $6.28 a standard drink. More on Dewar's 15 in this week's piece.
Dewar's 15 is $80 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $80, so this sits about where it always does. Vanilla, melon, a little orange, a whisper of wood. Around $3.62 a pour at home, under a pint at the pub. The full read is in this week's piece.
Like Dewar's 15? Label 5 Premium Reserve 12 gives a Dewar's 15 drinker about 97% of what it does, for 85% of the price. The price: $68. Soft smoke, banana, a little apple. More in this week's piece.
Like Dewar's 15? Pour a Dimple 12 — toffee, warm caramel, a slip of citrus. It gives a Dewar's 15 drinker about 97% of what the Dewar's 15 does, for 67% of the price, at $54. More on Dewar's 15 in this week's piece.
Dewar’s 18, $131 at Dan Murphy's. The nose comes over light and soft: toasted barley, buttered toast, heather-honey, raisins dipped in milk chocolate. Low in ABV, and yet the palate turns sweet and creamy anyway. More in this week's piece. Drinks richer than it reads?
Marmalade, almond, cinnamon buns. That's Chivas Regal XV 15, $89. For a Dewar’s 18 drinker it gives about 89% of what Dewar’s 18 does, at 68% of its price. Both earn a yes. More on Dewar’s 18 in this week's piece.
Hand a Chivas Regal 18 drinker a Dewar’s 18 — light, sweet, creamy — and they'd pay 88% of what their own bottle costs, missing a little of the dried fruit and wood spice they know. Worth pouring one to see where you land. More on Dewar’s 18 in this week's piece.
Dewar’s 18 is $131 the bottle, around 24 pours, which works out at $5.53 a standard drink at home. A pint at the pub runs about $6.28 a standard drink. Sweet, malty, creamy. Pour yourself one and see where it sits for you; more on it in this week's piece.
Dewar’s 18 is $131 at Dan Murphy’s this week, and it usually sells around $131, so it’s sitting right where you’d expect. Nothing unusual to flag, just a steady marker to keep in mind. For the full pour on it, have a read of this week’s piece.
| bottle | region | latest ticket | read | window price | CE 360° mean | premium | shelf rank | per std drink | drink rank | content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dewar's 12 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky | Highlands | $62.90 | observed | $64.99 | $62.52 | 3.8% | #2 of 38 | $2.85 | #4 of 36 | 19 |
| Dewar's 15 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky | Multi-Regional Blend | $79.99 | observed | $79.99 | $65.13 | 18.6% | #25 of 27 | $3.62 | #18 of 26 | 12 |
| Dewar's White Label Blended Scotch Whisky 1L | Highlands | $68.99 | observed | $48.29 | $44.27 | 8.3% | #12 of 38 | $2.19 | #1 of 36 | 2 |
| Dewar's White Label Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | Highlands | $54.99 | observed | $56.99 | $47.91 | 15.9% | #24 of 38 | $2.49 | #3 of 36 | 2 |
| Dewar’s 18 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky | Highlands | $130.99 | observed | $122.26 | $105.76 | 13.5% | #17 of 38 | $5.53 | #20 of 36 | 39 |