Here is the short answer before the long one: the bottle most like The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, for less money, comes from the same still house. The Macallan 12 Double Cask, at $137, gives a Sherry Oak 12 drinker about 98% of what their own bottle does. Same family, same warmth, a little less at the counter.
1/Some bottles court the room. The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 courts its own. It's the youngest of the Sherry Oak line, and it knows exactly who it's pouring for.
2/On the nose: Christmas cake in a glass. Sherry, dried fruits, hot butter, a little old leather. The palate is smooth and full, with Jaffa oranges, brittle toffee and light oak. A relatively long finish carries spice, malt and a last hint of smoke.
3/Here's the telling bit. Ask the drinkers of the bottles nearest it what this Macallan is worth to them, each starting from what they pay for their own, and the answers run from $46 to $134.
4/This week it is $160; it usually sells around $170. We've seen it as low as $158 and as high as $170. So at $160 it sits above every one of those answers.
| 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 | 169.99 observed | 169.99 m 158.00 observed | 169.99 m 158.00 observed | 169.99 m 158.00 observed | 169.99 observed | 169.99 observed | 169.99 observed | 169.99 observed | 169.99 observed | 169.99 observed | 169.99 observed | 169.99 observed | 159.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 169.22 | 169.99 | 2.77 | 159.99 | 169.99 | 10.00 | 1.6% | 0.77 | 159.99 | 8 |
| member | 166.45 | 169.99 | 5.54 | 158.00 | 169.99 | 11.99 | 3.3% | 1.54 | 159.99 | 31 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 169.22 | 7.69 | -3.61 | 13 | 167.7 – 170.7 |
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, poured after a long Tuesday: sherry, Christmas cake, old leather, a wisp of smoke. Want that without the full $160? The Macallan 12 Double Cask, $137, gives a Sherry Oak drinker 98% of it for 86% of the price. Fair swap? More in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfiddich 15 drinker The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 and they'd pay 68% of what their own bottle costs, a generous nod from a neighbour and reason enough to pour one yourself. The rest of the story waits in this week's piece on The Macallan Sherry Oak 12.
Christmas cake and Jaffa oranges, a little old leather, then a last hint of smoke: The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is one to pour slowly of an evening. This week it is $160 at Dan Murphy's; it usually sells around $170. More on where that price sits in this week's piece.
The odd part: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, at $105, hands a The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 drinker about 87% of what their own bottle gives, for 66% of its price. Honey, almonds, a touch of nutmeg. The rest of the story on The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is in this week's piece.
Like The Macallan Sherry Oak 12? Glenfiddich 15 gives you about 74% of what it does, for 87% of the price, at $140. Cooked plums and stewed rhubarb on the nose, then hedgerow fruit and a little grip on the palate. More on The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 in this week's piece.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 at $160, the youngest of the Sherry Oak line. A classic nose of sherry, Christmas cake, dried fruit and old leather. Smooth and full, with jaffa oranges and brittle toffee, then a long finish of spice and smoke. Aberlour 12 Double Cask at $113. Bourbon and sherry casks. Orange peel, banana, red apple and toasted nuts. Thin but intense, with chocolate and cooked apple. About $5.11 a pour at home, under a pint at the pub. This week the two come to $273 at Dan Murphy's, $283 at their usual prices, and $290 for the same two at Liquorland. A yes whichever way you lean.
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.
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.
Friday night, the heavy glass comes off the bench. The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 is $105 at Dan Murphy's. Twelve years, floral and honey on the nose, silky with nutmeg and dried fruit. For a Macallan Sherry Oak 12 drinker it gives about 87% of that bottle, for 66% of the price.
A price guide for the Tomintoul Seiridh Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish and the three single malts that sit closest to it. For each one: what it usually sells around, the range we've seen, and what a standard drink costs at this week's price. All sherry-finished or sherry-matured, all from the same stretch of the cabinet.
What are you actually paying for in a bottle of Glenfiddich 15? Price its age, name, style and sherry the way the rest of the range is priced at Dan Murphy's, and the features come to $176. This week it's $140. About 21% under.
If The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is your bottle, here's one for every other night: The Macallan 12 Double Cask, $137 at Dan Murphy's. To my palate it gives a Sherry Oak 12 drinker about 97% of what that bottle gives, for 81% of the price.
If The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is your bottle, the one that tastes most like it is The Dalmore 12. It gives you about 98% of what the Macallan does, for 88% of the price. Nearest two ways: by the words in the reviews, and by what drinkers reach for.
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.
Last Friday a mate stood at the counter in Dan Murphy's with a bottle of The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 in his hand, turning it over, half-deciding. He wanted to know what I'd put next to it. So here's what I told him, and a little more besides.
The bottle most like The Dalmore 18 at a lower price comes from the same distillery. The Dalmore 12, $149, gives a Dalmore 18 drinker about 86% of what their own bottle does. Same name on the label, same oloroso hand, a fraction of the outlay.
Hand a Macallan 12 Double Cask drinker a Dalmore 18 and they come away with about 90% of what they like. Run it the other way and the trade stalls: hand a Dalmore 18 drinker the Macallan and they'd put only 79% of their own bottle's price on it, marking it down mostly for being younger than theirs. The swap works going one way and not back.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $136.99 | $164.99 | -28.00 |
| 2 | The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $99.95 | $161.18 | -61.23 |
| 3 | The Macallan Double Cask 15 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $377.99 | $155.87 | +222.12 |
| 4 | Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $139.99 | $155.12 | -15.13 |
| 5 | The Macallan Double Cask 18 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $635.99 | $143.34 | +492.65 |
| 6 | GLENFIDDICH 12YO SHERRY CASK FINISH 700ML | $136.99 | $142.95 | -5.96 |
| 7 | Tomintoul Cigar Malt Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $179.99 | $138.06 | +41.93 |
| 8 | Aberlour 14 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $159.99 | $138.02 | +21.97 |
| 9 | Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $105.00 | $136.61 | -31.61 |
| 10 | Mortlach The Wee Witchie 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL | $158.66 | $136.46 | +22.20 |