Caol Ila 12 is the sort of bottle that suits almost anyone who reaches for it. It sits in the top 19% of bottles for how broadly it's liked. That is the whole case for it, in one line.
Caol Ila 12 is an Islay single malt with its peat turned down rather than up. The nose runs to fresh fish wrapped in bacon with a squeeze of lemon, cooked at a beach barbecue, floral and allspice notes drifting in behind. The palate is lightly oily and meaty, medium-peated, softly spiced, with pineapple and melon through the middle. Then it dries out: more fruit, and a peppery peat on the way down. Balanced, and easy to be around.
Caol Ila 12 is $99 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. Worked back to the glass, that is about $4.17 a standard drink across the roughly 24 standard drinks in the bottle. A pint at the pub runs about $13, near enough to $6.28 a standard drink. So a pour at home comes in under a pint.
1/Who drinks this?
2/Whose drinkers have it nearest, and what they'd give for it:
3/Across the drinkers of the bottles nearest it, the answers run from $78 to $138. At $99 for members this week, about where it usually sells, Caol Ila 12 sits well inside that span.
| 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 | 137.99 observed | 137.99 m 99.00 observed | 137.99 m 99.00 observed | 137.99 m 99.00 observed | 137.99 observed | 137.99 observed | 137.99 observed | 137.99 observed | 137.99 m 99.00 observed | 137.99 m 99.00 observed | 137.99 m 99.00 observed | 137.99 m 99.00 observed | 137.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 137.99 | 137.99 | 0.00 | 137.99 | 137.99 | 0.00 | 0.0% | 0.00 | 137.99 | 100 |
| member | 117.00 | 99.00 | 20.23 | 99.00 | 137.99 | 38.99 | 17.3% | 5.61 | 137.99 | 100 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 137.99 | 0.00 | null | null | 138.0 – 138.0 |
Two Islays, side by side. Port Charlotte 10 is $146 this week, Caol Ila 12 is $138, so the Port Charlotte costs $8 more a bottle. Pour them and at 50% against 43% it's the cheaper drink: $5.29 a standard drink against $5.81. It runs darker than you'd expect, smoky and a touch medicinal, leaving you reaching for another. Per standard drink this week: — Ardbeg Wee Beastie: $3.51 — Lagavulin 8: $4.26 — Lagavulin 11 Sweet Peat: $4.84 — Port Charlotte 10: $5.29 — Caol Ila 12: $5.81 A pint at the pub is about $6.28 a standard drink. Every pour here sits under it.
Lagavulin 8 is light in colour but no wimp: the nose heads straight to the shore, mineral and salt, then turns sweet and lively. Menthol, bay laurel, brine, a touch of Parma violet. Peat smoke blown off a kiln into salt air. $113 at Dan Murphy's. More in this week's piece.
If Lagavulin 8 is your dram, Ardbeg Wee Beastie, $92, gives a Lagavulin 8 drinker about 92% of what the Lagavulin 8 does for 81% of the price, all wood smoke, sea breeze and black pepper, with more on the Lagavulin 8 in this week's piece.
Hand a Caol Ila 12 drinker a Lagavulin 8 and they'd pay 59% of what their own bottle costs, marking it down for being the younger pour. Still an easy yes for anyone who loves salt, shore and peat smoke. Where would it sit for you? More in this week's piece on Lagavulin 8.
At $4.26 a standard drink, a pour of Lagavulin 8 at home sits under the $6.28 a pint costs at the pub. The $113 bottle holds about 27 standard drinks, 161st of 310 at Dan Murphy's by price per drink. Where does that leave you? More in this week's piece on Lagavulin 8.
Like Lagavulin 8? Laphroaig 10 gives a Lagavulin 8 drinker about 80% of the same pour, for 96% of the price — and it's $109. Brine, iodine, charcoal, a sweet oak finish. The rest sits in this week's piece on Lagavulin 8.
Friday night, two Islay bottles on the bench look almost twins. Caol Ila 12 is $99 this week, Bowmore 12 is $95. So Caol Ila costs $4 more a bottle. But at 43% against 40% it's the cheaper drink: $4.17 a standard drink against $4.30. Per standard drink: Bowmore 12 $4.30, Caol Ila 12 $4.17, Bunnahabhain 12 $5.01, Lagavulin 16 $6.74, Lagavulin 11 Sweet Peat $6.95. A pint at the pub is about $13, near two standard drinks, so $6.28 each. Bowmore, Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain come in under; the two Lagavulins sit over. Pick by taste. The price per pour won't trip you up.
Caol Ila 12 is a beach barbecue in a glass: fresh fish wrapped in bacon, a squeeze of lemon. The palate turns oily and meaty, medium smoke carrying pineapple and melon, then dries into peppery peat. Caol Ila 12, $99 for members. Which barbecue is yours? More this week.
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.
Ask the drinkers of the bottles nearest Caol Ila 12 what they'd pay for it, each starting from what they pay for their own, and the answers land between $77 and $101. At $99 for members it sits near the top of that spread. The full read is in this week's piece.
Caol Ila 12 comes to about $4.17 a pour at home, near 24 to a bottle, while a pint at the pub lands around $6.28 a standard drink, so the sofa wins on arithmetic if not on company. Worth a nightcap on the numbers? More in this week's piece.
Like Caol Ila 12? Here's a stand-in. Highland Park 12 gives a Caol Ila 12 drinker about 94% of what Caol Ila 12 does, for 91% of the price. $90 for members. Fragrant and floral, heather and honey, a wisp of smoke. More in this week's piece on Caol Ila 12.
Caol Ila 12 costs $4 more a bottle than Bowmore 12, but at 43% against 40% it's the cheaper drink: $4.17 a standard drink against $4.30. Per standard drink this week: • Highland Park 12 — $90, 40%, $4.07 • Caol Ila 12 — $99, 43%, $4.17 • Bowmore 12 — $95, 40%, $4.30 All three come in under a pint at the pub ($6.28 a standard drink). Pour the Caol Ila of an evening: fish and bacon off a beach barbecue, a squeeze of lemon, peppery peat drying the finish. After honey, heather and a wisp of smoke, it's the Highland Park; sweet smoke and peaches, the Bowmore.
Pour Ledaig 10 of an evening and the peat lands brisk and bracing, its raw edge softened by honeyed vanilla, earthy smoke, ripe barley and a twist of black liquorice. $99 for members at Dan Murphy's, where it usually sells around $104. More in this week's piece.
If Ledaig 10 is your smoke, Talisker 10 sits right alongside it: a Ledaig 10 drinker gets about 99% of what they came for, at 93% of the price. That's $92 for members, sweet pear and cracked black pepper under the smoke. More on Ledaig 10 in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of the bottles nearest Ledaig 10 what it's worth to them. Their answers run $86 to $133, each from what they pay for their own. At $99 for members it sits inside that range, an easy yes for the peat drinker. More on Ledaig 10 in this week's piece.
They're all smoky, each in its own way. Ledaig 10 comes to $3.87 a standard drink — a pour at home, around 26 to the bottle. A pint at the pub runs about $6.28 a standard drink. More on Ledaig 10 in this week's piece.
Earthy peat smoke, honeyed vanilla and a stick of black liquorice, a brisk punch with soothing sweetness beneath. That's Ledaig 10, $99 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $104, so take this as a gentle guide. More in this week's piece.
Talisker 10: I get a sweet, pear-like note under the smoke on the nose, an easy palate, then a finish with a crack of black pepper. The smoke is there, but it never takes over the whole room. $92 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. More on it in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of Talisker 10's nearest bottles what they'd give for it, each starting from what their own costs, and the answers run $90 to $135. At $92 for members, Talisker 10 sits near the bottom of that spread. Where each kind of drinker lands is in this week's piece.
Talisker 10 is $92, about 25 standard drinks in the bottle, so a pour at home runs $3.64 a drink, against about $6.28 a standard drink for a pint at the pub. Pour it when you want cracked pepper and sweet seaweed on a cold night. More in this week's piece. Which way tonight?
Pour the Bowmore 12 and the nose turns tropical and sweetly smoky, with brine and new leather, then peaches and honey on the palate before cocoa powder and woodsmoke fade. A fine introduction to the distillery, $95 for members this week. More in this week's piece.
Ripe red apples, a little heather, a wisp of smoke. That's Cragganmore 12, $86. For a Bowmore 12 drinker it gives about 97% of what Bowmore 12 does, at 90% of the price. More on Bowmore 12 in this week's piece.
Pour one after the washing-up, the Bowmore 12 you keep by the kettle. Ask the drinkers of its nearest neighbours what they'd give for it: $69 to $97. At $95 for members, it lands inside their range. More on Bowmore 12 in this week's piece — worth a pour.
Bowmore 12 comes to about $4.30 a standard drink poured at home, where a pint at the pub sits closer to $6.28 for the same measure. Roughly 22 drinks in the bottle to work through slowly. This week's piece walks through where it all lands. What's a pour at home worth to you?
Bowmore 12 is $95 for members at Dan Murphy's this week, a little under the $102 it usually sells around, so read it as a quiet guide rather than a nudge. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Bowmore 12? Highland Park 12 comes close: a fragrant, heathery nose, honey and citrus on the palate, then warm wood smoke lingering through the finish, giving a Bowmore 12 drinker about 97% of what they love for 95% of the price, $90 for members. More in this week's piece.
Ledaig 10, Tobermory's peated one, $99 for members at Dan Murphy's. Earthy peat smoke on the nose, then ripe barley, honeyed vanilla and bourbon char, a black liquorice stick, a brush of olive brine before the sweetness soothes. Pour one and see, more in this week's piece.
Hand a Port Charlotte 10 drinker a Ledaig 10 and they'd pay 85% of what their own bottle runs, knocking a little off for Tobermory rather than Islay. Same peat, same brine. Would you pour it? More in this week's piece on Ledaig 10.
Ledaig 10 works out to $3.87 a standard drink, the cost of a pour at home, where a pint at the pub sits closer to $6.28 for each of its roughly two. Something to turn over on a quiet night, isn't it? More on Ledaig 10 in this week's piece.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lagavulin 11 Year Old Sweet Peat Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700ml | $164.99 | $97.12 | +67.87 |
| 2 | Laphroaig 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $97.00 | $96.66 | +0.34 |
| 3 | Bowmore 12 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $95.00 | $95.70 | -0.70 |
| 4 | Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $145.99 | $94.10 | +51.89 |
| 5 | Lagavulin 8 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $99.00 | $92.57 | +6.43 |
| 6 | Lagavulin 16 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $159.95 | $89.93 | +70.02 |
| 7 | Ardbeg Wee Beastie Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $105.99 | $84.66 | +21.33 |
| 8 | Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $127.99 | $79.58 | +48.41 |
| 9 | Laphroaig Select Cask Scotch Whisky 700mL | $75.00 | $78.70 | -3.70 |
| 10 | Smokehead Islay Single Malt 700mL 40% | $81.99 | $78.44 | +3.55 |