The Guard Whisky
It may just be me, but doesn’t it feel like there is an accelerated shift in the pricing of Scotch single malts over the past year or two? If you conduct a quick check through the largest or most popular online retailers in the UK, you may notice the following pricing structure within the Scotch single malt market.
Under £30: Largely non age statement single malts, some age statements at 10-year-old at 40% sneak under the top end of this price bracket.
£30-£50: Mainly 10–12-year-old malts where you will see more integrity bottles (age, not chill filtered, not coloured and at 46%). Some malts aged 15 years old at 40% sneak just under the top end of this price bracket.
£50-£80: A lot more variety in this price bracket. You will find most 15-year-old offerings and some 18-year-old bottles too. The interesting thing here is that you will also find special edition or cask strength bottles mainly either as a non-age statement or aged from 10-year-old and above.
£80+: I don’t really pay too much attention to this price bracket unless there is a specific distillery or bottle that I am interested in and I find that the consensus from the online whisky community is a very positive one. My advice to anyone, regardless of their budget, is to be very selective once you are spending this amount of money.
I must emphasise that I have not conducted in depth analysis on the market to come to this viewpoint, rather this the way in which I see the market based on my (almost) daily ritual of perusing a variety of website to spot my next purchase. A ritual which I have had in place for 8 years.
The most noticeable change to me has been the gradual shift in the price of 15 and 18-year-old bottles. I feel like I am paying at least £10 more for 15-year-old favourites and anything from £10-£30 more for 18-year-old malts. The price drift has been more noticeable over the past couple of years. To add to this, accessibility has become an issue because of people chasing bottles and stocking up out of fear of never being able to get that bottle again. Both issues go hand in hand. It’s a vicious cycle.
Another thing I have noticed is the chasm in pricing structure. You can probably pick up a 10 or 12-year-old bottle for under £50. If you then wanted to explore further and try the next age statement up (normally either 15 or 18-year-old) then you are looking at an exponential price increase. This is more acute where there is no middle-aged option (typically a 15 year old) and you are jumping from 10 or 12-year-old to 18-year-old. I can imagine this will dampen your enthusiasm and force you to look elsewhere.
Here are a few examples.
Highland Park: The 12-year-old averages £35 and then the next age in the range is the 15-year-old at £80.
Benromach: The 10-year-old averages at £33 and then the next age in the range is the 15-year-old at £65.
Aultmore: The 12-year-old averages at £45 and then the next age in the range is the 18-year-old at £105.
Craigellachie: The 13-year-old average at £50 and then the next age in the range is the 17 year old at £100.
These are just a tiny sample from the market, but I can say from personal experience, as a fan of Aultmore I have not purchased the 18 year old and also as a fan of Benromach I rarely buy the 15 year old unless it is on offer. My interest in the official range stops at the entry level bottle. This is where independent bottling comes to the rescue, although it also comes with its risks.
There is also something interesting going on with the swathes of new distilleries releasing their new products to the market. Just looking at Wolfburn, Mc’Nean, Raasay, Kingsbarn and Ardnamurchan who are pricing their young malts at £45-£50 it will be interesting to see where they pitch their age statement bottles, assuming they will release them at 10 or 12 years of age. Are they setting expectations for what is to come?
Of course, there is another side to the value equation which is quality. Difficult to address this as we all have our own preferences. I think the best marker for quality we have is the Integrity criteria first coined by Ralfy I believe. Integrity compromising of natural colour, age statement (no matter how young), not chill filtered and bottled at 46%.
The Online Scotch Whisky Awards really captured the essence of value with the addition of accessibility which is also a critical factor. It was intriguing to see what the online whisky community voted for across all the categories and the general takeaway for me was that my sense of value for money (meaning price, quality and accessibility) was broadly in line with the online whisky community that voted. That is a good thing for me, especially as I base my purchasing decisions on their experience as well as my own.
It was clearly acknowledged that the OSWA’s may lead to a price increase and/or availability becoming more difficult amongst those malts that were successful or on the shortlist. So where do you go next if those whiskies you’ve enjoyed and are being celebrated are no longer within reach? The independent market is a fun and interesting place to explore but as mentioned this comes with risk, so I strongly advise that you do your research. Maybe start with your favourites few distilleries and don’t spend too big too soon.
I think there is value to be had in the cask strength category. Cask strength bottles dominates my whisky cabinet at the moment. You will probably be stretching into the £50-£80 category but in theory if there is a distillery or distilleries that have rarely let you down then the odds are you will be onto a winner. You will get more out of a bottle, assuming you don’t drink it neat, and it allows you to experiment more as you have more abv to play with in tandem with water. The only compromise is that sometimes these come with no age statement so you are probably looking at relatively young whisky but if that doesn’t bother you too much then I would recommend that you explore this category.
There is another category that doesn’t get much attention. A category that was first introduced to us by Vin (you know who he is). That is the Guard whisky category. If you follow No Nonsense Whisky, then you will be familiar with this term. I'm sure I have heard the term used for a while by Vin but the earliest I can recall hearing him use it was on his re-review of Glenmorangie 10 (vlog #309) which is quite apt because that was the single malt that got me into the whisky scene. Vin's definition of a guard whisky at the time was a whisky that is "guilt free" and "a palette resetter". I interpret "guilt free" to mean not feeling bad about spending your money on it and not worrying about finishing it off because it is widely available. The second point about resetting your palette is also a very good one. My palette can easily become fatigued if I drink high strength challenging malts too regularly. Revisiting a Guard whisky helps reset the balance and give your palette and brain a break as well as your wallet.
I think it is safe to say that there is consensus amongst the online whisky community at least that integrity bottles do matter and when you get integrity at a price that is deemed reasonable then you are onto something good. However, even though integrity bottles priced at a level that many consider provides value for money does not mean that it is always affordable. Naturally you probably don’t want to go through the “good stuff” too quickly as you probably want to keep some of your budget for buying whiskies you have not tried. What you consider to be a guard whisky depends on your budget. My definition of this would be a bottle that costs under £25 or close to £20 when on offer. Typically, these will be no age statement and bottled at 40%. It is easy to forget about this category as you progress through your journey, but it is nice to be reminded that you can get some tasty malts in this price bracket that satisfy your need for a casual dram every now and then and as a bonus prolonging the life of your more expensive bottles which may save you money in the long run.
So, to put that into context with my own experience. At the start of my whisky journey, I took a scattergun approach to buying whisky, starting off with what I could get from the supermarket and then gradually exploring online retailers. I quickly found that I was accumulating too many bottles that were average. I then refocussed my attention to my favourite distilleries and kept about 6 bottles at a time with a one in one out policy. This approach didn't work for me too long though as I was missing out on in demand bottles that I wanted to try. I also found that I was drinking more to finish a bottle quicker so that I could replace it with something else. This took the enjoyment out of the hobby and I realised that I had to change my approach. Now I feel that I have reached a compromise that suits me at this moment in time. I make sure to do my research and purchase bottles that I have a high degree of confidence in. These are typically integrity bottles that come at a cost of £50-£75 which makes it easy to spend in excess of £100+ per month if I buy a few at a time.
It is at this point where the Guard whisky comes to the fore. Every so often I consciously decide to tighten up my monthly budget after I have purchased a few bottles the previous month, and if there is a whisky that I really want which is above my budget for that month then I am happy to let it go and not chase. Instead, I would purchase a couple Guard whiskies knowing that I am not going to feel disappointed or guilty. Over the course of a year, I have found that my expenditure balances out nicely to an annual budget that I do not feel bad about and can afford without going into debt.
I have heard the case from people suggesting not to spend £30 and put that towards a bottle costing £30-£50 or £50-£80 as you will be getting a better experience. I understand that viewpoint, but my point is not about seeking better quality malts but prolonging the life of the quality malts you already have, especially when availability is an issue and it not guaranteed that you will be able to replace them. Also, I think it is reasonable to say that this is an expensive hobby, so the Guard whisky provides much needed respite for my bank account.
You may be wondering by now which whiskies I am referring to when I describe Guard whiskies. Well, for me there are two that I would happily recommend to anyone. The Glen Moray Elgin Classic and Loch Lomond Classic. I would also like to give an honourable mention to a couple of blends, the Shackleton Blended Malt and Johnnie Walker 12 Blended Scotch. There are also the entry level 10 or 12 year malts from large producers such as Glenmorangie, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and Highland Park which come in near the price when on offer. These whiskies are probably not regarded as exciting or interesting by many that have ventured deep into their whisky journey, but these whiskies have my respect.
I am sure there are many of you that have your own list of Guard of whiskies, what do you have as your Guard whisky?
For those that have not explored this end of the market then I recommend that you do. You might get a pleasant surprise
About the author
Jag
Jag got the whisky bug back in 2014 and hasn’t looked back since. He has benefited from the excellent advice gathered from the online whisky community and felt compelled to give something back to the community by adding his voice.
He previously had his own blog called TheFlavourChase to share his ongoing journey into the world of whisky, however life takes over so now he tries to write as and when he can for No Nonsense Whisky. Whether you are at the start or well into your whisky journey he hopes you find his articles helpful . His intention is to share his journey, viewpoints and provide tips to help you on your Flavour Chase.