From the Ardbeg guy · Thread · tastes-like · 2026-10-22

Tastes like Ardbeg Wee Beastie

1/If Ardbeg Wee Beastie is your bottle, its closest flavour twin at Dan Murphy's is Lagavulin 8. By the words in the reviews and by what drinkers reach for, it's the nearest match. Lagavulin 8 gives about 95% of what the Wee Beastie does, for 93% of the price.

2/In the glass they sit close. The Wee Beastie comes on as intense peat, wood smoke, black pepper and a squeeze of sour lemon. Lagavulin 8 heads for the shore: mineral, salt, a touch of menthol and Parma violet. Both reviews land on peat and smoke.

3/This week at Dan Murphy's: Ardbeg Wee Beastie is $106 and Lagavulin 8 is $99 for members. A yes for each: stay with the Wee Beastie if it's your pour, or reach for Lagavulin 8 when you fancy a change. Either way, that's under a pint at the pub per standard drink.

Sources

Prices at Dan Murphy's as of 2026-10-22 (22 October 2026); vintage 2026-10-22.1; bottles: Ardbeg Wee Beastie Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL, Lagavulin 8 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL.
Lagavulin 8 for an Ardbeg Wee Beastie drinker (share of what the Ardbeg Wee Beastie gives): 95% (stand_ins.alternatives.share_of_ref)
Ardbeg Wee Beastie price this week: $106 (price.ticket)
Lagavulin 8 price this week: $99 (price.ticket)
Lagavulin 8 price as a share of Ardbeg Wee Beastie's: 93% (price.ticket ratio)
flavour words in both reviews (Ardbeg Wee Beastie, Lagavulin 8): peat and smoke (identity.review_text (both))
Ardbeg Wee Beastie per standard drink: $4.05 (price.ticket / standard drinks)
Lagavulin 8 per standard drink: $3.73 (price.ticket / standard drinks)
a pint at the pub, per standard drink (about $13 a pint, about 2 standard drinks): $6.28 (PUB_PINT)
a pint at the pub: $13 (PUB_PINT)
THE POINT (fixed: keep its figures): Of the like-for-like bottles at Dan Murphy's, Lagavulin 8 is the nearest to Ardbeg Wee Beastie on flavour two ways: by the words in their reviews and by what drinkers choose. Lagavulin 8 gives an Ardbeg Wee Beastie drinker about 95% of what the Ardbeg Wee Beastie does, for 93% of its price.
Ardbeg Wee Beastie: standard drinks in the bottle: about 26
Lagavulin 8: standard drinks in the bottle: about 27
under a pint at the pub, per standard drink: Ardbeg Wee Beastie and Lagavulin 8
over a pint at the pub, per standard drink: none

Omissions

None recorded.

Notes for reviewer

None recorded.

Frontmatter as merged

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premium over CE 360° · shared scale 0% to +70% across the eleven

Ardbeg Wee Beastie Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

$91.99list 11-05

CE 360° $96.46 · 9.0% over · #3 of 16 in Islay

per standard drink $3.51 · #3 of 16 in Islay

18 pieces · observed

Lagavulin 8 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

$112.99list 11-05

CE 360° $91.35 · 7.7% over · #1 of 16 in Islay

per standard drink $4.26 · #8 of 16 in Islay

32 pieces · observed

source file: drafts/2026-10-22-n69-tastes-like-tastes-like-ardbeg-wee-beastie.md