If Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 is the bottle you reach for, the nearest thing to it at a lower price comes from the same distillery. Glenfiddich 18, $180, gives a Gran Reserva 21 drinker about 85% of what their own bottle does. Same house, three years younger, a little under half the outlay.
1/The Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 is $331 on the shelf this week. Until last week a member could have it for $273; that offer has now ended, so for a member it costs more than it did.
2/The engine's second-closest match to it on flavour make-up is The Glen Grant 18, another Scottish single malt. That one keeps its price at $185. Same country, same style, one hundred and forty-six dollars apart.
3/The Glen Grant 18 is Speyside sherry-and-oak territory — an older single malt that has spent its whole life pointed at drinking rather than shelf appeal. Not the Gran Reserva's twenty-one years, but close company by profile.
4/Not the same whisky, and not a like-for-like pour. It's profile geometry: the model ranks the Glen Grant 18 second of the Gran Reserva's matches. $331 for the 21, or $185 for the 18? What's it going for near you?
| 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 | 330.99 m 273.00 observed | 322.99 m 273.00 observed | 322.99 m 273.00 observed | 322.99 m 273.00 observed | 330.99 observed | 330.99 observed | 330.99 observed | 298.95 observed | 298.95 observed | 298.95 observed | 330.99 observed | 329.99 observed | 327.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 321.44 | 327.99 | 13.22 | 298.95 | 330.99 | 32.04 | 4.1% | 3.67 | 327.99 | 54 |
| member | 305.45 | 298.95 | 25.91 | 273.00 | 330.99 | 57.99 | 8.5% | 7.19 | 327.99 | 62 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 321.44 | 174.72 | -1.23 | -0.24 | 314.2 – 328.6 |
Rum casks leave their mark. The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask, $151 at Dan Murphy's, opens banoffee-sweet with vanilla, toffee and banana, then turns soft and silky with pineapple, papaya and mango. More on it in this week's piece. Which fruit do you catch first?
Had them both open this week. Love The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask? Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve gives you about 95% of it for 75% of the price, $113 for members. Oak, heather, a little vanilla. Which one's on your bench tonight? More in this week's piece on the Balvenie.
Pour The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask: soft and silky, vanilla and toffee sliding into pineapple and mango from the rum casks. A Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 drinker would put 67% of their own bottle's price on it, a younger whisky than theirs. More in this week's piece.
The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask is $6.36 a standard drink, about 24 to the bottle. That's 242nd of 310 at Dan Murphy's per standard drink. A pint at the pub is about $6.28 a drink. A pour at home lands just over. More on The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask in this week's piece.
The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask is $151 at Dan Murphy's this week, a little under the $161 it usually sells around, so if those sweet-and-tropical notes are where you want to be the price sits in easy reach right now. More on it in this week's piece.
Here's the surprise: Craigellachie 13, at $111, gives a The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask drinker about 93% of what that bottle does, for 74% of its price. Grilled pineapple, caramel, a twist of grapefruit. Tempting before you reach for the Balvenie? More in this week's piece.
Bottle open on the bench, a cold night. Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23: apricots in syrup and apple blossom on the nose, then pears, vanilla and warm white bread, a finish of toffee and coffee. $511 this week; it usually sells around $559. More in this week's piece.
Like Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23? For a drinker of it, Glen Moray 21 gives about 75% of what that bottle does, for 59% of the price, at $304 for members this week. Subtle oolong, ripe red fruits and Tawny Port, honey and oak over a creamy palate. Pour one; more in this week's piece.
Small one from this week's piece on Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23: hand it to a Glen Moray 15 drinker and they'd gladly pay 72% of what their own bottle costs just to have it instead, which is about the nearest answer going. The rest of it's waiting for you in the article.
I ran the numbers on a single pour: Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 comes to $23.13 a standard drink, about 22 in the $511 bottle, which sits it 300th of 310 at Dan Murphy's that way. A pint runs $6.28 a drink, so a pour at home is well over that. More in this week's piece.
Curious what Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 is doing this week? It's $511 at Dan Murphy's. It usually sells around $559, so this week sits a touch under. A guide, not a rush. More on it in this week's piece. Pour one and see where it lands for you.
Like Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23? Tomintoul 21 gives you about 77% of it, for 67% of the price. This week it's $340 for members. Floral fruits, sweet barley, a long almond-and-vanilla finish. Pour one yourself. The full piece on Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 is up this week.
Like Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21? The Glenlivet 18 covers about 88% of it for its drinker: dried flowers, tinned pineapple, windfall apples, a note of custard tart, for 60% of the price at $200. More on Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 in this week's piece.
Hand a The Glenlivet 18 drinker Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 and they'd pay around 80% of their own bottle: near $161, set against the $200 they pay for theirs. The nearest neighbour's answer, plainly put. More on Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 in this week's piece.
Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 is $331, about 22 standard drinks, so $14.98 a pour at home. A pint at the pub works out near $6.28 a standard drink, so this sits above it. One for you if you like it creamy and sweet, all toffee and dried fruit. More in this week's piece.
I keep coming back to the Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21. Toffee and caramel on the nose, a creamy sweetness, dried fruit and a rum-cask finish. It's $331 at Dan Murphy's this week, about where it usually sells, and I've seen it from $273 to $331. More in this week's piece.
Fancy the Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21? I'd reach for the Glenfiddich 18 at $180. For a Gran Reserva 21 drinker it gives about 85% of what the 21 does, at 54% of the price. Oak, apple, warm cinnamon. More in this week's piece.
Like Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21? The Glenlivet 15 gives that drinker about 80% of what it does, for 38% of the price. $125 for members. Perfumed oak, apple and pear, a little white pepper. One for the curious. Pour one and see. More in this week's piece.
Two 21-year-olds, side by side. Glen Moray 21 costs $12 more a bottle than Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21, but at 46.3% against 40% it's the cheaper drink: $13.41 a standard drink against $14.98. They rhyme more than they differ: one on Tawny Port, summer berries and honey, the other on toffee, dried fruit and a Cuban rum cask. Across the group the pour runs from $8.14 for the Glenfiddich 18 to $27.37 for the Balvenie Stories 21. Want the Port and the strength? Glen Moray 21, $343. Want the sweeter, creamier 40%? Gran Reserva, $331.
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 gap first. The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask is $151 this week. Price its age, name, strength and style the way the rest of the range at Dan Murphy's is priced and you land near $186 — the price sits about 19% under that.
Friday night, the cupboard open, and you pour something eighteen years old: dried flowers, tinned pineapple, a little cedar and nutmeg, custard tart. The Glenlivet 18 is $170 for members at Dan Murphy's — about 90% of a Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 for 52% of the price.
I keep noticing Glenfiddich 18 turning up in good company. Some whiskies have fans. This one has friends: other bottles that sit close to it, and drinkers who keep it within reach.
The Balvenie Stories 21 'The Second Red Rose' is a $727 bottle on the shelf this week — top-tier Speyside, priced like a trophy.
A mate pours you a finger of something golden at the end of a long week, no label in sight, and asks you to guess. It is soft, sweet, faintly tropical. You land on The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask, and you are right. Then he tells you what he actually poured, and it changes how you shop.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Balvenie The Balvenie 21 Year Old Portwood Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $452.99 | $294.02 | +158.97 |
| 2 | The Balvenie Stories 21YO 'The Second Red Rose' Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $726.99 | $276.03 | +450.96 |
| 3 | Glen Moray 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $342.99 | $267.79 | +75.20 |
| 4 | Tomintoul 21 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $368.99 | $266.42 | +102.57 |
| 5 | The Glenlivet 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $184.99 | $259.22 | -74.23 |
| 6 | Glen Moray 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $163.99 | $253.78 | -89.79 |
| 7 | GLEN GRANT 18 YEARS 700ML | $213.99 | $249.58 | -35.59 |
| 8 | The Macallan Double Cask 18 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $635.99 | $249.56 | +386.43 |
| 9 | Tomintoul 25YO Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $732.99 | $247.35 | +485.64 |
| 10 | Glenfiddich 14YO Bourbon Res 700ml | $129.99 | $244.59 | -114.60 |