A mate pours you a finger of Chivas Regal 18 at his kitchen table on a cold night, the kind where the heater's been on since four. You know the bottle before he says it, because it is the one you reach for too, and the two of you stand there agreeing that it rarely gets better than this. Then he asks the question that always comes once the bottle is open and the price is remembered: is there anything close to it that costs less.
There is, and it comes from the same house. Chivas Regal XV 15 sits at $89, and to a Chivas Regal 18 drinker it gives about 93% of what their own bottle does. The nearest thing to Chivas Regal 18 for less money carries the same name, a smaller number, and a cognac cask behind it.
First, the bottle on the table. Chivas Regal 18 opens with vanilla, almond slice, toffee and a dry note of pencil shavings over sweet oak and mild wood spice. It is smooth and unhurried, warming by degrees, carrying malt, dark fudge, leather, raisin and tobacco before the oak, wood spice and chocolate come forward and the finish settles in long and warm. It is the sort of dram that makes you slow down to keep up with it.
1/Royal Salute 21 sits at $210 this week. Love it? The Chivas Regal 18 gives a Royal Salute 21 drinker about 86% of what the Royal Salute 21 does, for 60% of the price.
2/Chivas Regal 18, $125 at Dan Murphy's. Eighteen years old, bottled at 40%. The nose: vanilla, almond slice, toffee, a little sweet oak. The palate warms slowly through malt, dark fudge, leather and raisin. A long, warm finish of oak and chocolate.
3/What a Royal Salute 21 drinker gives up with the Chivas Regal 18 is mostly the name on the label and three years of age. So: Royal Salute 21, $210, still the one for its fans. Chivas Regal 18, $125, the one for every other night.
| 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 | 114.95 m 114.00 observed | 114.95 m 114.00 observed | 114.95 m 114.00 observed | 114.95 m 114.00 observed | 114.95 observed | 135.99 observed | 124.95 observed | 113.95 observed | 124.95 observed | 124.95 observed | 124.95 observed | 124.95 observed | 124.95 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 121.11 | 124.95 | 6.78 | 113.95 | 135.99 | 22.04 | 5.6% | 1.88 | 124.95 | 92 |
| member | 120.81 | 124.95 | 7.07 | 113.95 | 135.99 | 22.04 | 5.9% | 1.96 | 124.95 | 92 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 121.11 | 45.91 | 0.67 | 0.01 | 117.4 – 124.8 |
Johnnie Walker 18, $131 at Dan Murphy's: woodsmoke off green twigs, vanilla fudge and baked apples under honey, with a catch of smoke that carries into the finish. Classical, but easy to like. Pour one and see. More on it in this week's piece.
Fancy a Johnnie Walker 18 but eyeing the price? Chivas Regal 18 gives you about 97% of what you love about it, for 95% of the price, at $125 this week. Nose of vanilla and toffee, soft oak and spice on the finish. More on Johnnie Walker 18 in this week's piece.
Who's it for? Anyone chasing woodsmoke and honeyed oats; I'd pour it gladly. Its neighbours' drinkers would pay $120 to $231 for Johnnie Walker 18, each from their own bottle. This week it's $131, inside that range. More in this week's piece.
Pour one after dinner, lamps low. Johnnie Walker 18 works out at $5.93 a standard drink, just under a pub pint's $6.28 a standard drink. Woodsmoke off green twigs, honey over baked apples, a catch of smoke into the finish. More in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21, $210 at Dan Murphy's, and it drinks its age: orchard fruit in masses, a hint of passion fruit, oak gone soft and round, a banana note with a drop of water. Thick and chewy, a nut on the finish. One for the patient sipper. More in this week's piece. Fancy a dram?
Friday night, cupboard open, deciding what to pour. Chivas Regal 18, $125, gives a Royal Salute 21 drinker about 86% of the whisky for 60% of the price. Vanilla, almond, toffee. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21 is $210 this week. Hand it to a Chivas Regal 25 drinker and they'd pay $502 for it, 78% of what their own bottle sets them back. Across the nearer drinkers the figure runs from $107 to $502. Where it all settles is in this week's piece.
A pour of Royal Salute 21 lands 274th of 310 at Dan Murphy's per standard drink: at $210 for about 22 pours, that's $9.51 a glass at home, a touch over a pub pint's $6.28 a drink. One for the lover of rounded orchard fruit. More in this week's piece.
I kept coming back to the orchard fruit on Royal Salute 21. Masses of it, a hint of passion fruit, then a drop of water lets a banana note up. Thick and chewy, a little nut on the finish. $210 at Dan's. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Royal Salute 21? Johnnie Walker 18 gives you about 91% of what it does, for 85% of the price. That's $179. Woodsmoke, honey, baked apples. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
Hand Royal Salute 21 to a Chivas Regal 18 drinker and they'd pay about $99 for it, close to 79% of what their own bottle costs, marking it down mostly for the name on the label. More on where Royal Salute 21 sits with its neighbours in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21 runs about 22 standard drinks a bottle, so a pour at home is $9.51. A pint at the pub sits near $6.28 a standard drink. The 21 lands above that; Chivas 18 slips under at $5.66. What's a fair price for a pour in your own glass? More in this week's piece.
Like Royal Salute 21? Chivas Regal 18 gives a Royal Salute 21 drinker about 85% of it, for 60% of the price, at $125. Vanilla, almond slice and toffee on the nose. Malt, dark fudge and raisin, then a warm, long finish. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
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.
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.
Pouring the last of the Dewar’s 18 on a quiet Thursday, I found myself reaching for the Chivas Regal 18 beside it: $125, giving a Dewar’s 18 drinker about 88% of what that bottle does for 95% of the price, all vanilla, almond and toffee. More on Dewar’s 18 in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21 is the one I'd pour when I want maturity without effort: masses of orchard fruit, a hint of passion fruit, oak that's rounded and supple, and a banana note once you add water. Thick and chewy, with a little nut on the finish. At $260, it's in this week's piece.
Like Royal Salute 21? For a Royal Salute 21 drinker, Johnnie Walker 18 gives about 90% of what it does, for 69% of the price. It's $179. That woodsmoke and honey stay with me. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
Ask a Chivas Regal 18 drinker what they'd give for a Royal Salute 21 and it comes in at 79% of their own bottle; across its nearest neighbours, what those drinkers would pay runs from $99 to $162. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21 works out at $11.77 a standard drink, a fair bit more than the $6.28 a pint runs you per drink at the pub. For a pour at home of orchard fruit, a hint of passion fruit and a little nut on the finish, I'd happily sit with it. The full look's in this week's piece.
I had a look at the Royal Salute 21 this week. It's $260 at Dan Murphy's, and it usually sells around $260, so a quiet week with nothing much moving. The rest of it — who it stands in for, and what a pour works out to at home — is in this week's piece.
Like Royal Salute 21? Chivas Regal 18 gets you about 83% of the way there, for 48% of the price. That's $125. Vanilla, almond slice, a little toffee. Good company. The rest on Royal Salute 21 is in this week's piece.
Chivas Regal 25 is one to pour on a slow evening: red apple and cinnamon drifting up, then coffee, malty cocoa and sticky toffee pudding, a long aniseed finish trailing behind. $646. Pour one and sit with it — more on it in this week's piece.
Like Chivas Regal 25? Pour a Chivas Regal 18 and you still get about 81% of what the 25 gives you, for 19% of the price, yours at $125, with vanilla, almond slice, toffee and sweet oak warming up as it sits in the glass. More on the Chivas Regal 25 in this week's piece.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aberlour 14 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $159.99 | $120.01 | +39.98 |
| 2 | Chivas Regal XV 15 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $88.99 | $116.78 | -27.79 |
| 3 | Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $139.99 | $116.37 | +23.62 |
| 4 | Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $105.00 | $114.21 | -9.21 |
| 5 | Tamdhu 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $98.00 | $113.85 | -15.85 |
| 6 | Tamdhu 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $201.99 | $112.62 | +89.37 |
| 7 | The Glenlivet 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $184.99 | $112.57 | +72.42 |
| 8 | Chivas Regal Charles LeClerc 16YO 700mL | $99.99 | $112.39 | -12.40 |
| 9 | Royal Salute 21 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $259.99 | $111.93 | +148.06 |
| 10 | Chivas Regal 25 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $645.99 | $111.20 | +534.79 |