A mate pours you a finger of Glen Moray 21 at his place, the good cupboard open, and you spend the next ten minutes working out whether the one you've been eyeing at Dan Murphy's is really worth the stretch. Here's the short version before the glass is empty: the bottle most like the Glen Moray 21, for less, is made down the road at the same distillery. The Glen Moray 18, $164, gives a Glen Moray 21 drinker about 95% of what the 21 does.
So that's the spine of it. Same hands, younger, and almost all of the experience.
Back to the glass in front of you. The 21 noses like oolong and ripe red fruit, with a thin ribbon of Tawny Port laid over the top and small, quiet waves of baking spice coming up behind. There's caramel and oak in there too, sweet turning tart, summer berries and vanilla, a hint of honey before more of that oak. The palate is medium and rich, creamy, sweet, honeyed. It isn't a loud whisky. It's one you sit with.
1/Billy's on the fire, two bottles in the camp box. Old mate wanders over, swirls his glass. 'Warm and soft, this one. Melon and apricot, bit of dried hay. What'd you call it?' Glen Moray 18, I tell him — $164 at Dan Murphy's. He settles back on his swag.
2/'You on the same?' he asks, nodding at my glass. Nah — that's the Glen Moray 21. Oolong and red fruits, a wisp of Tawny Port, baking spice over something creamy and honeyed. 'Keeping the good stuff for yerself,' he grins. Fair cop. It's the one for its fans.
3/The 21 runs $304 for members this week; it usually sells around $343, and against that the 18 is about 48% of the price. Side by side it comes out clean: the Glen Moray 18 gives a 21 drinker about 95% of what the 21 does, for 54% of its price.
4/What a 21 drinker gives up with the 18 is mostly three years of age, and not much else. So here's the yes for each: the 21 stays the one for its fans, and the 18, at $164, is the one for every other night round the fire.
Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve, $113 for members at Dan Murphy's. Woody yet floral, oak underpinning heather with honey, vanilla and a twist of citrus. Well balanced, a long and easy finish, the daily dram you reach for without a second thought. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve? The Balvenie 12 American Oak, $99, gives a Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve drinker about 94% of it, at 88% of the price. Honey and navel orange. More on Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve in this week's piece.
Hand a Glen Moray 18 drinker the Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve and they'd pay 88% of what their own bottle costs. They dock it a touch for the younger years, not the dram: oak, heather, honey. Worth a pour? The full read on Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve is in this week's piece.
A Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve poured at home works out at $4.76 a standard drink, about 24 to the bottle. A pint at the pub sits nearer $6.28 a drink, so the couch is quietly ahead. That's the price per pour; the full tasting is in this week's piece.
The Glenlivet 18: dried heathery flowers, tinned pineapple, windfall apples, then a turn to cedar and nutmeg. Tongue-clinging, custard tart, autumn fruit on the finish — curtains drawn, settling in for winter. $170 for members at Dan Murphy's. More in this week's piece.
I keep coming back to this: if you love The Glenlivet 18, The Glenlivet 15 at $153 gives you about 96% of what it does, for 90% of the price. Perfumed oak, apple and pear, soft white pepper. More in this week's piece.
Hand a The Glenlivet 15 drinker a bottle of The Glenlivet 18 and they'd pay 78% of what their own bottle costs, marking it down mostly for the extra years it carries over theirs. More on The Glenlivet 18, and where it sits, in this week's piece. Pour one and see.
Melon and apricot, a little apple pie. That's Glen Moray 18. For a The Glenlivet 18 drinker it gives about 87% of what the 18 does, at 96% of the price. $164 this week. More in this week's piece on The Glenlivet 18.
Light and floral for a Speysider: honeyed vanilla, a little marshmallow and hay, then a soft dry finish. The Glen Grant 10 is $66 at Dan Murphy's. An easy, clean malt to begin with. Pour one and see for yourself. More on it in this week's piece.
A mate keeps his Glen Moray 15 on the bench for Fridays. Hand him The Glen Grant 10 and he'd put it at 88% of what his own bottle costs him — a fair swap, near enough, from the drinker standing closest. Where would yours land? More on The Glen Grant 10 in this week's piece.
The Glenlivet 12 keeps it light: lily, pineapple, and a thick cream that beds the airy flavours down, with a little white pepper once you add water. $76 at Dan Murphy's. The full tasting is in this week's piece.
Like The Glenlivet 12? The Singleton of Dufftown 12 is $69. For anyone on The Glenlivet 12, it does about 99% of what that bottle does, at 91% of the price. Soft, faintly fruity, an easy evening pour. The full write-up on The Glenlivet 12 is in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of the bottles closest to The Glenlivet 12 what they'd pay for it, each starting from their own, and you get a spread: $68 at the low end, $117 at the top. This week it's $76, sitting comfortably inside that. The whole of it is in this week's piece.
The Glenlivet 12 is $76 this week, about 22 pours in the bottle, so $3.44 a standard drink at home. That sits 109th of 310 at Dan Murphy's per pour. A pint at the pub is about $6.28 a drink. A light, floral Speyside to sip slowly. More in this week's piece.
The Glenlivet 12 is $76 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $79, so the price has quietly sat down for one. Where that leaves it is your call to make. The full read on The Glenlivet 12 is in this week's piece.
Like The Glenlivet 12? The Glen Grant 10 gives you about 98% of what it does, for 87% of the price. This week it's $66. Honeyed vanilla, a little marshmallow and hay, a soft dry finish. More on The Glenlivet 12 in this week's piece. Fancy a side-by-side?
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.
Melon and apricot. A warm, soft dram. Glen Moray 18 gives a Glen Moray 21 drinker about 95% of what the 21 does, for 54% of the price. It's $164. A soft yes for the 21 lover who'd happily pour this of an evening. More on Glen Moray 21 in this week's piece.
Put Glen Moray 21 beside the bottles nearest it and ask those drinkers what it's worth to them. Their answers run from $76 to $415, each starting from what they pay for their own. This week it's $304 for members, sitting inside that spread. More in this week's piece.
Glen Moray 21 comes to about $11.89 a pour at home, roughly 26 standard drinks to the bottle. If a creamy, honeyed sipper to linger over after dinner is your kind of thing, this is one to pour slowly and savour. More on where it sits this week.
Glen Moray 21 is the pour for someone after an old Speyside that stays soft and sweet: creamy, honeyed, a wisp of Tawny Port and ripe red fruits. It's $304 for members at Dan Murphy's this week; it usually sells around $343. More on where it sits in this week's piece.
Like Glen Moray 21? The Glenlivet 18 gives a Glen Moray 21 drinker about 88% of what they love, for 56% of the price, and it's $170 for members. Dried flowers, tinned pineapple, a settling-in-for-winter dram. Worth a pour. More on the Glen Moray 21 in this week's piece.
Peat smoke and sea air, all under $100. The Scotch single malts at Dan Murphy's with the most of it, from their own reviews: Caol Ila 12, $99: fish and bacon off a beach barbecue, lightly oily and meaty. Smokehead Islay, $76: young and fiery, toffee apple, charcoal ash and peppered seaweed. Lagavulin 8, $99: straight to the shore, mineral and salt, then a breezy menthol. Glen Moray Peated, $72: sweet smoke and vanilla, lemon icing, a soft ashy finish. Talisker 10, $92: a sweet pear under the smoke, finishing on cracked black pepper. Five routes to the same coast. Pick your weather.
The Glen Grant 10, $70 for members at Dan's. Light, floral, fresh. Honeyed vanilla and lively fruit, with a whisper of marshmallow and hay. The finish turns soft and dry. A clean malt to start on. It usually sells around $76. More on The Glen Grant 10 in this week's piece.
Hand The Glen Grant 10 to someone who drinks Aberfeldy 12 and they'd put it at 89% of what their own bottle costs, easing it down for being a Speysider rather than a Highlander. Light, floral and an easy introduction either way. More on it in this week's piece.
| bottle | region | latest ticket | read | window price | CE 360° mean | premium | shelf rank | per std drink | drink rank | content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Moray 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $78.99 | observed | $78.99 | $77.09 | 2.4% | #17 of 79 | $3.58 | #27 of 75 | 28 |
| Glen Moray 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $97.99 | observed | $94.00 | $90.63 | 3.6% | #23 of 79 | $4.44 | #36 of 75 | 21 |
| Glen Moray 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $163.99 | observed | $163.99 | $151.11 | 7.8% | #41 of 79 | $6.29 | #49 of 75 | 19 |
| Glen Moray 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $342.99 | observed | $342.99 | $297.81 | 13.2% | #58 of 79 | $11.89 | #62 of 75 | 26 |
| Glen Moray Classic Port Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $71.99 | observed | $71.99 | $70.66 | 1.8% | #11 of 79 | $2.67 | #7 of 75 | 0 |
| Glen Moray Classic Single Malt Scotch Whisky 1L | Speyside | $89.99 | observed | $62.99 | $62.10 | 1.4% | #7 of 79 | $2.63 | #6 of 75 | 1 |
| Glen Moray Classic Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | Speyside | $70.99 | observed | $59.00 | $58.29 | 1.2% | #2 of 79 | $3.21 | #20 of 75 | 1 |
| Glen Moray Peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $71.99 | observed | $71.99 | $70.66 | 1.8% | #12 of 79 | $2.67 | #8 of 75 | 1 |
| Glen Moray Sherry Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $71.99 | observed | $71.99 | $70.66 | 1.8% | #13 of 79 | $2.67 | #9 of 75 | 0 |
| Glen Moray Shiraz Finish Whisky | Speyside | $71.99 | observed | $71.99 | $70.81 | 1.6% | #9 of 79 | $2.67 | #10 of 75 | 0 |