If the Dalmore 21 Malt is the one you reach for, the closest thing to it at a lower price carries the same name. The Dalmore 18 is $536, and to a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker it gives about 96% of what their own bottle does. Same distillery, most of the way there, a little over half the money.
Start with the bottle itself. Twenty-one years in the cask show up as dark fruit and chocolate on the nose, with sherry sitting underneath and a bit of orange peel and warm spice. The palate is full and luscious: dried fruit, caramel, vanilla, oak. The finish goes on and on, sherry and chocolate and spice lingering well after the glass is down. It tastes its age, in the good way.
What to pay. The Dalmore 21 Malt is $990 at Dan Murphy's this week, and from what we've seen it usually sells around $990. That works out to about $42.68 a standard drink, roughly 23 of them in the bottle, so a pour at home is a considered thing rather than a habit.
1/Some bottles make friends across the whole room. The Dalmore 21 keeps a smaller circle, and that circle is devoted. This is a dram priced for the people who already love it.
2/Ask the drinkers of the bottles nearest it what the Dalmore 21 is worth to them, each starting from what they pay for their own, and the answers run from $113 to $580. At $990 it sits above all of them. It's priced for its fans.
3/And those fans get plenty for it. Twenty-one years shows up as dark fruit and chocolate, sherry and vanilla, a twist of orange peel. The palate is full and luscious, with dried fruit, caramel and oak. The finish just keeps going.
4/It usually sells around $990, and that's where it sits this week. Across the bottle, about 23 pours, that works out to $42.68 for a glass at home. The kind of glass you'd want to take your time over.
| 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 | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed | 1100.00 observed | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed | 989.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 998.45 | 989.99 | 30.51 | 989.99 | 1100.00 | 110.01 | 3.1% | 8.46 | 989.99 | 92 |
| member | 998.45 | 989.99 | 30.51 | 989.99 | 1100.00 | 110.01 | 3.1% | 8.46 | 989.99 | 92 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 998.45 | 930.94 | 3.61 | 13 | 981.9 – 1015.0 |
Like the Dalmore 21 Malt? The Dalmore 18 gives a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker about 96% of what the 21 does. American oak and oloroso, honey, orange marmalade, a long citrus finish. At $536 it comes to 54% of the 21's price. More on the Dalmore 21 Malt in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfiddich 18 drinker a Dalmore 21 Malt and they'd put up 66% of what their own bottle costs them, the markdown resting more on the name than the pour. This week's piece walks through where that lands — so which way would you lean?
A glass of Dalmore 21 Malt comes to $42.68 a standard drink at home, about 23 pours from the bottle — rich, chocolatey, long on sherry. Pour one and see; this week's piece has the full tasting of the Dalmore 21 Malt.
Dalmore 21 Malt is $990 at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $990, so this is the shape of it to keep in mind. Twenty-one years of sherry, dark fruit and chocolate, with a finish that stays. Worth a pour if it's calling you. More in this week's piece.
Fond of the Dalmore 21 Malt? The Dalmore 12 at $149 carries about 72% of what it gives a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker, for 15% of the outlay: tangerines and soft toffee on the nose, orange and spicy dark chocolate, then vanilla and prunes to close. More in this week's piece.
Craigellachie 23 sits at $780 this week, where it usually sells around $800. For a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker it gives about 69% of what that bottle does, at 79% of its price — ripe dried fruit, a little peat smoke, maple syrup. More on Dalmore 21 Malt in this week's piece.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, $170 at Dan Murphy's. The nose is all Christmas cake and sherry, dried fruit and old leather. Then jaffa oranges, brittle toffee, light oak, and a hint of smoke. The youngest of the Sherry Oak line, and the one this week's piece is built around.
I kept coming back to the orange in The Dalmore 12: tangerine, cocktail cherries, long dark chocolate. For a The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 drinker it lands at about 98% of the Macallan, for 88% of its price, at $149. More on the Macallan in this week's piece.
Hand a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 and they'd put up 66% of what their own bottle costs — marked down for being younger than theirs, though the sherry cake and old leather would still win them over. Who does it suit? That's the thread in this week's piece.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is $170 at Dan Murphy's this week, right about its usual mark; we've seen it between $158 and $170. A sherried after-dinner pour — Christmas cake, dried fruit, a hint of smoke on the finish — for the drinker who likes it rich. More in this week's piece.
Like The Macallan Sherry Oak 12? When I want candied orange peel and dark chocolate, I pour The Macallan 12 Double Cask, $137. It gives a Sherry Oak drinker about 97% of what they'd get, at 81% of the price. Try a glass. More in this week's piece.
I noticed the smoke first, just a touch of it. Then the Craigellachie 23 opens out: ripe and dried fruits, spice, melted white chocolate, baked pineapple, a little waxiness with water. Thick and silky, long and elegant. It's $780 this week. More in this week's piece.
Like Craigellachie 23? Craigellachie 19 gives a Craigellachie 23 drinker about 93% of it, at 48% of the price. That's $376. Leaner, crisp, fresh fruits, a little dried pineapple. More on Craigellachie 23 in this week's piece.
Hand a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker the Craigellachie 23 and they'd pay 69% of what their own bottle costs, missing the sherry and dried fruit they're used to. Where the 23 lands among the bottles nearest it is in this week's piece.
Melted white chocolate, then baked pineapple and a drift of lilies: that's where Craigellachie 23 settles. It's $780 this week, usually around $800, with about 25 standard drinks in the bottle, so a pour at home works out to $30.70. More on it in this week's piece.
The bottle shop was quiet on a weekday afternoon, the kind of hour when you can read the back labels properly. Craigellachie 23 was $780 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $800. More on where it sits in this week's piece.
Love Craigellachie 23? Then Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 is worth a pour: it gives a Craigellachie 23 drinker about 75% of what they're after, at 42% of the price, landing at $331 this week, all toffee, caramel and sweet vanilla. Try one, and read the rest in this week's piece.
The Dalmore 18 is one to pour late: honey and orange marmalade on the nose, then marzipan, sherry and bitter chocolate, with liquorice trailing a long finish. $536. There's more on it in this week's piece. Find a glass and give it a proper nose.
The Dalmore 12 gives a The Dalmore 18 drinker about 86% of what the 18 does, for 28% of the price, at $149. Tangerine and toffee on the nose, dark chocolate and ginger on the palate, vanilla and prunes to finish. Worth a pour before the 18? More in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfiddich 18 drinker The Dalmore 18 and they'd put it at 67% of what their own bottle costs, with the name on the label doing most of the marking down. Pour one and see where you land. More in this week's piece on The Dalmore 18.
The Dalmore 18 comes to $22.57 a standard drink poured at home, around 24 to the bottle, which is simply what's sitting in your glass. More on it in this week's piece.
The Dalmore 18 is $536 at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $536, so this is simply where it tends to sit rather than anything out of the ordinary, and there's more on it in this week's piece.
The surprise this week: The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 gives a fan of The Dalmore 18 about 80% of what it does, for 32% of its price, at $170 a bottle. Sherry, Christmas cake, dried fruit, a last hint of smoke. If that's your pour, yes. More on The Dalmore 18 this week.
The Macallan 12 Double Cask, $137 at Dan Murphy's. Two sherry-seasoned oaks, American and European: raisins, figs, candied orange peel, a little leather, then vanilla and white pepper. Warm and rich without going syrupy. Pour one and see. More in this week's piece.
Give The Macallan 12 Double Cask to someone who drinks the Dalmore 21 Malt and they'd put up 66% of what their own bottle costs, easing it down for the younger age. Two oaks, really: raisins, candied orange, a little leather. More in this week's piece.
The Macallan 12 Double Cask sits at $137 at Dan Murphy's this week, right where it tends to land. It usually sells around $137, and across what we've seen it's run from $137 to $145, so this week sits at the quiet end. More on The Macallan 12 Double Cask in this week's piece.
A price guide for Fettercairn 18. We set it beside the three single malts closest to it, and show what each usually sells around, the range we've seen, and what a standard drink costs this week. The table is below, and the read comes after it.
Most of a Dalmore 21 Malt for 54% of the price? Say hello to The Dalmore 18. For a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker it gives about 96% of what that bottle gives, at 54% of the cost. Same distillery, a different night.
You've got the Dalmore 12 open at $149 and you're wondering what another rung buys. The range climbs from there to the Dalmore 18 at $536, then the Dalmore 21 Malt at $990. Three steps up the one house. The 12 pours tangerine and soft toffee over spicy dark chocolate, with prunes on the finish. Here's what each step up gives, and what the younger bottle still gives the older one's drinker.
What are you paying for in Craigellachie 23? Price its age, name, strength and style the way the rest of the whisky at Dan Murphy's is priced, and you land near $376. It's $780 this week, about 107% over that going rate.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dalmore 18 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $535.99 | $958.55 | -422.56 |
| 2 | Fettercairn 18YO Single Malt 700ml | $357.99 | $824.83 | -466.84 |
| 3 | The Dalmore 12 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $148.99 | $740.12 | -591.13 |
| 4 | Glenfiddich 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $174.90 | $695.92 | -521.02 |
| 5 | Glengoyne 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $360.99 | $646.55 | -285.56 |
| 6 | The Macallan Double Cask 18 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $635.99 | $614.06 | +21.93 |
| 7 | Glengoyne 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $275.99 | $605.81 | -329.82 |
| 8 | Glengoyne 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $161.99 | $569.63 | -407.64 |
| 9 | The Macallan Double Cask 15 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $377.99 | $567.64 | -189.65 |
| 10 | Craigellachie 23 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $799.99 | $559.67 | +240.32 |