Each September I complete a survey, recording the prices of a distillery's 18yo - a standard bottle which you might buy for a special occasion like a birthday.
This year's results are in - let's see how things have changed.
I remember receiving a bottle of 18yo Glenfiddich as a leaving present when I left a job a few years back - a special occasion and a special bottle of whisky - I was surprised and pleased.
But could I afford to buy a bottle of that 18yo now? Everyone has their own 'limit' on what they will spend on a bottle of whisky - everyone's circumstances and values are different. But for a special occasion you might splash out a little more and a bottle of 18yo single malt fits that category.
Personally I have a limit of £100, based on the knowledge that there are loads of great whiskies available at less than that so why pay any more?
2 years ago I would have been able to buy an 18yo from at least 18 distilleries for that money, last year that reduced to 14 and this year to 13.
Largest increases:
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The largest increase in the year 2022-2023 came from Dalmore: a whopping 140% increase from £125 to £300.
Glenrothes and GlenDronach follow a little bit behind with increases of 53% and 44% respectively, both bottles now well north of £100.
Smallest increases:
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The smallest increase in the year 2022-2023 was actually a decrease and came from Tomintoul: a 20% decrease from £104 to £83. Back inside the £100 limit.
Auchentoshan and Glenfiddich were the only other distilleries to also reduced their prices, by a more modest 6%
Bunnahabhain held the price of their 18yo from last year.
Increase Table:
Jura still has the cheapest 18yo but at 44% ABV it won't be appearing on my shopping list anytime soon. My minimum 46% ABV for less than £100 is only met by Deanston, Glen Moray, Speyburn, anCnoc, Loch Lomond and Ledaig.
Macallan still have the most expensive 'standard' 18yo at £360, but Dalmore are catching up quickly!
Price changes 2021 to 2023:
Note: all prices were taken from a major online retailer excluding any special offers, discounts or delivery.
1 comment:
You expect prices to rise but some distilleries seem more ‘greedy’ than others, I got an e-mail from the Lakes distillery yesterday & they were asking £90 for an NAS expression which I thought was rather steep so God knows what they would charge for an 18 YO, it seems some people have more money than sense so I suppose the trend will continue unfortunately
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