Royal Salute 21 is $210 at Dan Murphy's this week. That is the number to carry to the counter.
Here is the useful part, and it comes from the same house. The bottle most like Royal Salute 21 at a lower price is Chivas Regal 18, $125, which gives a Royal Salute 21 drinker about 86% of what their own bottle does. Same family, most of the way there, and well under the price.
1/What are you paying for in Royal Salute 21? Price its features the way the rest of the range at Dan Murphy's is priced and you get a going rate of $260. This week it is $210. That is about 19% under the going rate for what it is made of.
2/That $260 is mostly age, at 52%. The name on the label is 31%. Sherry and dried fruit add 12%, strength the last 5%. So more than half the going rate is the years in the cask.
3/Its own drinker weighs the same features differently. Age is 72% of what they value, sherry and dried fruit 14%, the name 13%. The going rate leans on age too, just less. In the glass: orchard fruit, a hint of passion fruit, thick and chewy with a little nut to finish.
4/Want a stand-in that costs more? Chivas Regal 25 is $646 this week and gives a Royal Salute 21 drinker about 84% of what the 21 does. At home that is $29.24 a pour against $9.51. More is not always better. Both earn a yes: the 21 for most, the 25 for the extra polish.
| 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 | 209.95 observed | 209.95 observed | 259.99 m 250.00 observed | 259.99 m 210.00 observed | 259.99 observed | 259.99 observed | 259.99 observed | 259.99 observed | 259.99 observed | 259.99 observed | 259.99 observed | 209.99 observed | 209.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 244.60 | 259.99 | 24.03 | 209.95 | 259.99 | 50.04 | 9.8% | 6.66 | 209.99 | 31 |
| member | 239.99 | 259.99 | 24.84 | 209.95 | 259.99 | 50.04 | 10.4% | 6.89 | 209.99 | 31 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 244.60 | 577.38 | -0.95 | -1.34 | 231.5 – 257.7 |
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.
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.
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.
Aged blends, every one. Hand a Dewar's 18 drinker the Chivas Regal 25 and they'd pay 71% of what their own bottle costs, mostly because it's older than theirs. More on the Chivas Regal 25 in this week's piece.
Sunday night, one glass, no rush. On the nose, Chivas Regal 25 gives red apple and salted almonds; the palate turns to coffee and sticky toffee pudding, then a long aniseed finish. A pour at home is $29.24 a standard drink. More in this week's piece. Pour yourself one.
Chivas Regal 25 is $646 this week, and it usually sells around $646 — steady ground, no surprises. A polished, smooth dram, toffee running long on the finish. Take that as a guide, not a flag, and read the rest in this week's piece.
Fancy Chivas Regal 25? Royal Salute 21 gets a Chivas Regal 25 drinker about 76% of the way there, for 40% of the price, at $260. Orchard fruit, supple oak, a little nut on the finish. More on Chivas Regal 25 in this week's piece.
For anyone who loves Chivas Regal 25, a Dewar’s 18 at $131 gives back about 76% of what the 25 does for 20% of its price, all toasted barley and toffee, which is where this week’s piece on Chivas Regal 25 picks up.
Johnnie Walker 18, $179 at Dan Murphy's. Woodsmoke off green twigs, then honey over baked apples, golden syrup flapjacks, a dab of vanilla. Smoke carries into the finish. Classical but easy to like, one for the drinker who wants grandeur without fuss. More in this week's piece.
If you lean Johnnie Walker 18, Chivas Regal 18 is one to try: at $125 it gives a Johnnie Walker 18 drinker about 93% of what their bottle does, for 70% of the price, with vanilla, almond slice and toffee of its own. More on the Johnnie Walker 18 in this week's piece.
Hand a Chivas Regal 18 drinker a glass of Johnnie Walker 18 and they'd settle at 86% of what their own bottle costs, the mark mostly down to its sherry and dried fruit. More on it in this week's piece.
At home my Johnnie Walker 18 comes out at $8.10 a standard pour. That's a touch over a pint at the pub, which runs about $6.28 a drink. Around 22 pours in the bottle. I like knowing what a glass costs before I pour one. More on it in this week's piece.
Poured a glass after the kids were down, back door open to the cool. Johnnie Walker 18 is $179 this week, and that's about where it usually sells, around $179. The lowest I've seen it is $133. More on it in this week's piece.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Macallan Double Cask 18 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $635.99 | $234.39 | +401.60 |
| 2 | Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $139.99 | $232.15 | -92.16 |
| 3 | The Balvenie The Balvenie 21 Year Old Portwood Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $452.99 | $228.66 | +224.33 |
| 4 | Chivas Regal 18 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $124.95 | $227.33 | -102.38 |
| 5 | Chivas Regal 25 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $645.99 | $222.70 | +423.29 |
| 6 | Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $298.95 | $220.44 | +78.51 |
| 7 | The Macallan Double Cask 15 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $377.99 | $219.21 | +158.78 |
| 8 | Tomintoul 21 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $368.99 | $216.28 | +152.71 |
| 9 | The Balvenie Stories 21YO 'The Second Red Rose' Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $726.99 | $215.87 | +511.12 |
| 10 | Glen Moray 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $342.99 | $210.76 | +132.23 |