At $370 for members this week, Glenfarclas 25 sits above what the drinkers of the bottles nearest it would pay for it. That is the shape of the thing: it fits its own fans and pinches everyone else. Priced for its fans.
1/Let's open with the gap. Glenfarclas 25 is $370 for members this week. Price its age, strength, name and style the way the rest of Dan Murphy's is priced and the going rate for those features is $271. So this week it sits about 36% over that going rate.
2/What makes up that $271? Most of it is age, at 61%. Then sherry and dried fruit at 17%, strength at 10%, and being a single malt at 7%. The reviews back the shape: an old sherry-soaked oakiness, stewed fruits, sherried vanilla, and age that comes through even at the lower ABV.
3/Its own drinker weights the same features differently: age 71%, sherry and dried fruit 19%, being a single malt 8%. So the thing they most want, age, is the thing the going rate charges most for. At about $15.58 a standard drink across roughly 24 in the bottle, it is a slow pour.
4/More is not always better. Tamdhu 15 is $202 this week and gives a Glenfarclas 25 drinker 73% of what they value, at $7.95 a standard drink. Molasses, orange peel, sweet sherry, fruitcake, dark chocolate. Two yeses: reach for the 25 for the age, the 15 for most of the feeling.
| 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 | 389.99 observed | 389.99 observed | 389.99 observed | 389.99 observed | 389.99 m 350.00 observed | 440.00 m 350.00 observed | 440.00 m 350.00 observed | 440.00 m 350.00 observed | 440.00 observed | 440.00 observed | 440.00 observed | 440.00 observed | 440.00 m 370.00 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 420.77 | 440.00 | 25.32 | 389.99 | 440.00 | 50.01 | 6.0% | 7.02 | 440.00 | 100 |
| member | 391.54 | 389.99 | 37.38 | 350.00 | 440.00 | 90.00 | 9.5% | 10.37 | 370.00 | 38 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 420.77 | 641.28 | -0.54 | -2.06 | 407.0 – 434.5 |
Tamdhu 15 gives a Glenfarclas 25 drinker 73% of what the Glenfarclas 25 does, for 55% of the price, at $202. Molasses, orange peel on the nose, sherry and Turkish Delight on the palate, cloves and dark chocolate on a long finish. More on Glenfarclas 25 in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfarclas 15 drinker a dram of Glenfarclas 25 and they'd put down 54% of what their own bottle costs them. The nearest drinkers all land higher. I lay it out in this week's piece. Where would you sit?
Glenfarclas 25 is $370. About 24 pours in the bottle, so $15.58 a standard drink at home. That puts it 294th of 310 at Dan Murphy's by the pour. An old, sherried, honeyed thing. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Glenfarclas 25? A Glenfarclas 15 gives a Glenfarclas 25 drinker about 74% of what the 25 does, for 50% of the price, at $185. Dried fruits and toffee on the nose, then dark fruit, Christmas cake and roast oak. Pour one and see — more in this week's piece.
Both lean on honey and a bit of age. Glengoyne 21 gives a Glenfarclas 25 drinker about 93% of what the Glenfarclas 25 does, for 98% of its price. Its own price this week: $361. More on Glenfarclas 25 in this week's piece.
Glengoyne 21, $361 at Dan Murphy's: a creamy malt foundation, then honey, cookie dough and soft citrus-and-apple, with dry vanilla and cinnamon running through. Clean, polished, easy to keep pouring. More on it in this week's piece.
Fond of the Glengoyne 21? The Glengoyne 18 gives a Glengoyne 21 drinker about 96% of what the 21 does, for 76% of its price, at $276. Milk chocolate, vanilla and sweeter sherry, with a long, easy finish. Pour one if the 21 has your ear. The rest is in this week's piece.
Ever wonder what Glengoyne 21 is worth to the drinkers sitting nearest it? Start each of them at what they pay for their own bottle, and the closest, a Glenfarclas 25 drinker, lands at 82% of theirs. There's more on where it all sits in this week's piece.
A creamy maltiness runs through the Glengoynes, young or old. The 21 sits at $361 for about 24 standard drinks, so a pour at home comes to $15.20. Where that leaves each kind of drinker is in this week's piece on Glengoyne 21.
Glengoyne 21 is $361 at Dan Murphy's this week, right where it usually sells, around $361. No surprises either way. That's about $15.20 a pour at home, across the 24 or so in the bottle. More on the Glengoyne 21 in this week's piece. What would you pour it for?
I keep coming back to the Glenfiddich 18 when someone asks me what sits near Glengoyne 21: at $180 it gives a Glengoyne 21 drinker about 91% of what they love, for 50% of the price. Oak, fresh apple, barley, a warming cinnamon. More on Glengoyne 21 in this week's piece.
I keep looking at the price on this one. Glengoyne 15 is $162, about 45% of what Glengoyne 21 costs, and for a Glengoyne 21 drinker it does about 86% of what the 21 does. Sherry, vanilla and ginger. More on Glengoyne 21 in this week's piece.
Glengoyne 18, matured with a generous share of first-fill sherry: milk chocolate, vanilla and melon on the nose, then cinnamon, ginger, almonds and orange marmalade, the spices lingering over easy-going oak. $276. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Glengoyne 18? The GlenDronach 15 Revival gives a Glengoyne 18 drinker about 91% of it, for 64% of the price. $176 the bottle. Ripe cherries, walnuts, dark chocolate. More on the Glengoyne 18 in this week's piece.
Milk chocolate and vanilla on the nose, orange marmalade and cinnamon on the palate, spices lingering in the finish: that's Glengoyne 18. Hand it to a Glenfarclas 25 drinker and they'd pay 77% of their own bottle, docking it for the younger age. More in this week's piece.
I did the sums on the Glengoyne 18 this week: $276 a bottle, about 24 standard drinks in it, which lands a pour at home at $11.62. Plenty of whisky hiding behind that number. I've put it beside its neighbours in this week's piece if you want to see where it sits.
Glengoyne 18 is $276 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $276, and we've seen it as low as $220. About $11.62 a pour at home, for the night you want rich sherry and easy oak with no rush. More on who it suits in this week's piece.
I noticed the Glengoyne 15 again this week. For a Glengoyne 18 drinker it gives about 90% of what the 18 does — the sherry, the vanilla, a lively ginger — at 59% of its price, so $162. The 18 itself gets its own turn in this week's piece.
Honey and old sherry-soaked oak on the nose, a little vanilla pod. The palate turns to sherry spice, stewed fruit, a wisp of tobacco and faint chocolate. Even at the lower ABV, I can taste the age. The Glenfarclas 25 is $440 this week. More in this week's piece.
I keep coming back to the Glengoyne 21 whenever I think about the Glenfarclas 25. Honey, cookie dough, a creamy maltiness under it. For a Glenfarclas 25 drinker it gives about 93% of what you're after, at 82% of the price, and it sells around $361. More in this week's piece.
Hand a Glengoyne 15 drinker the Glenfarclas 25, all sherried oak and stewed fruit with the age showing through, and they'd put up 58% of what their own bottle costs for it. That's the nearest neighbour's answer. More on the Glenfarclas 25 in this week's piece.
Glenfarclas 25 pours honeyed and malty, old sherried oak with a little tobacco and chocolate underneath, the age quiet but present. At $440 that's about 24 standard drinks, so $18.53 a pour at home. This week's piece sits with it a while. A glass for your evening?
Like Glenfarclas 25? Glengoyne 18, $276, gives that drinker about 86% of what the Glenfarclas does for 63% of the price: milk chocolate and vanilla on the nose, orange marmalade and cinnamon on the palate, spice through a long finish. More in this week's piece on Glenfarclas 25.
Like Glenfarclas 25? Glenfiddich 18 gives its drinker about 75% of what that bottle does, for 41% of the price, at $180. Oak and fresh apple on the nose, then barley, a mild cinnamon spice, and a smoothness that stays. More on Glenfarclas 25 in this week's piece.
If the Glenfarclas 25 is your bottle, I'd reach for the Glengoyne 21 next. It's the closest on flavour, two ways: the words in the reviews and what drinkers choose. A Glenfarclas 25 drinker gets about 93% of what they love, for 82% of the price.
Two rungs this week: the 15 at $130, the 25 at $440. One step up the ladder, and ten years sit between them. What does that step actually get you, and is it one you need to take?
I poured the Glenfarclas 25 next to a few of its neighbours this week, and it stood a little apart. It's an old sherried Speyside that the people who love it tend to really love. That's the heart of it.
310 bottles at Dan Murphy's can be priced per standard drink this week. Cheapest first: Grant's Triple Wood 1 litre at $1.99 a standard drink; the median is $4.16; Dalmore 21 Malt is the highest at $42.68. 235 of the 310 come in under a pint at the pub, which works out at $6.28 a standard drink.
305 bottles at Dan Murphy's can be priced per standard drink this week. Cheapest first: McAllister 1 litre at $2.00 a standard drink; the median is $4.03; Dalmore 21 Malt is the highest at $42.68. 228 of the 305 come in under a pint at the pub, which works out at $6.28 a standard drink.
If Glengoyne 21 is your bottle, the closest thing to it for less money hasn't travelled far. It's the Glengoyne 18, $276, and to a Glengoyne 21 drinker it gives about 96% of what the 21 itself does. Same distillery, a few years younger, most of the character for about three-quarters of the outlay.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tamdhu 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $201.99 | $306.94 | -104.95 |
| 2 | Glenfarclas 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $129.99 | $306.73 | -176.74 |
| 3 | Chivas Regal 25 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $645.99 | $296.34 | +349.65 |
| 4 | Glengoyne 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $360.99 | $286.38 | +74.61 |
| 5 | Glen Moray 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $342.99 | $282.00 | +60.99 |
| 6 | Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $139.99 | $278.15 | -138.16 |
| 7 | Aberlour 14 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $159.99 | $277.15 | -117.16 |
| 8 | Glengoyne 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $275.99 | $269.51 | +6.48 |
| 9 | Chivas Regal 18 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $124.95 | $265.88 | -140.93 |
| 10 | Royal Salute 21 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $259.99 | $260.31 | -0.32 |