PricesData study
20 standard malts2009 prices against UK prices today
After inflation, the standard malts still sold under their 2009 names cost about 10% more at UK shops on 14 October 2026 than the cheapest 2009 price.
+10% after inflation, for the standard malts still sold under their 2009 names, against the cheapest 2009 price
† A successor bottling, not like for like. Prices recorded on 14 October 2026; 2009 lows are across 19 shops in six countries.
All 20 bottles in the 2009 basket
| 2009 bottle | 2009 average | 2009 lowest | Lowest in Sep 2026 money | Today's bottle | Cheapest shelf | Cheapest delivered | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberlour 10 | £25.58 | £22.90 | £38.34 | Aberlour 12 Year Old (successor) | £42.95 Hard To Find Whisky | £48.90 Hard To Find Whisky | Aberlour 10 Year Old is not listed at the UK shops we check; Aberlour 12 Year Old is the entry age here. |
| Ardbeg Ten | £36.19 | £26.99 | £45.19 | Ardbeg 10 Year Old | £45.00 The Whisky Shop | £49.99 The Whisky Shop | |
| Bowmore 12 | £30.11 | £24.11 | £40.37 | Bowmore 12 Year Old | £39.99 DrinkSupermarket.com | £44.94 DrinkSupermarket.com | |
| Bruichladdich 15 (second edition) | £47.70 | £38.20 | £63.96 | Not on sale at the UK shops we check | A limited second edition; no longer made. | ||
| Bunnahabhain 12 | £32.50 | £24.95 | £41.77 | Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old | £46.50 Tyndrum Whisky | £51.00 Tyndrum Whisky | Same name and age; the label facts (strength, chill filtration) may differ from the 2009 bottling. |
| Dalmore 12 | £35.39 | £27.74 | £46.44 | Dalmore 12 Year Old | £59.00 Loch Fyne Whiskies | £64.49 Tyndrum Whisky | |
| Edradour 10 | £36.30 | £30.39 | £50.88 | Edradour 10 Year Old Distillery Edition Unchillfiltered (successor) | £45.99 Tyndrum Whisky | £50.49 Tyndrum Whisky | Today's listing is the 10 Year Old Distillery Edition, unchillfiltered, which may not be the 2009 bottling. |
| Glenfarclas 10 | £29.77 | £23.26 | £38.94 | Glenfarclas 10 Year Old | £44.99 DrinkSupermarket.com | £49.94 DrinkSupermarket.com | |
| Glenfiddich 12 Special Reserve | £26.85 | £22.97 | £38.46 | Glenfiddich 12 Year Old | £38.99 DrinkSupermarket.com | £43.94 DrinkSupermarket.com | Now sold as Glenfiddich 12 Year Old. |
| Glenmorangie 10 | £31.00 | £24.89 | £41.67 | Glenmorangie Original 12 Year Old (successor) | £39.00 The Whisky Shop | £43.99 The Whisky Shop | Glenmorangie Original was a 10-year-old in 2009; it now carries a 12-year age statement. |
| Laphroaig 10 | £29.30 | £24.19 | £40.50 | Not on sale at the UK shops we check | Still made, but not in stock at the UK shops we check on this date (only a sherry-finished version was). | ||
| Littlemill | £32.30 | £24.70 | £41.35 | Not on sale at the UK shops we check | The report lists it as a 12 in its bottle list and an 8 in its price table. The distillery closed in the 1990s; only old, rare bottlings remain. | ||
| Macallan 18 Fine Oak | £87.39 | £65.39 | £109.48 | Not on sale at the UK shops we check | The Fine Oak range was replaced; no Macallan 18 was in stock at the shops we check. | ||
| Mortlach 16 Flora & Fauna | £48.65 | £36.99 | £61.93 | Not on sale at the UK shops we check | Replaced; Mortlach 16 Year Old Distiller's Dram is listed but was out of stock. | ||
| Springbank 10 | £38.09 | £28.70 | £48.05 | Not on sale at the UK shops we check | Still made, but not in stock at the UK shops we check on this date. | ||
| Talisker 10 | £33.68 | £23.30 | £39.01 | Talisker 10 Year Old | £42.45 Hard To Find Whisky | £48.40 Hard To Find Whisky | |
| The Glenlivet 12 | £26.54 | £19.69 | £32.97 | The Glenlivet 12 Year Old | £37.00 Loch Fyne Whiskies | £42.99 Loch Fyne Whiskies | |
| Tobermory | £30.16 | £19.99 | £33.47 | Tobermory 12 Year Old (successor) | £42.00 The Whisky Shop | £46.99 The Whisky Shop | The report gives no age. The core Tobermory now carries a 12-year age statement. |
| Tomintoul 10 | £29.24 | £22.22 | £37.20 | Not on sale at the UK shops we check | Not listed at the UK shops we check on this date. | ||
| Tullibardine 1993 | £33.15 | £28.99 | £48.54 | Not on sale at the UK shops we check | A vintage bottling, since replaced by a different core range. |
2009 prices: average and lowest across 19 online retailers in six countries, in pounds, from Table 1 of the whisky-news.com report. Today's prices: confirmed listings in stock at the UK retailers we check, recorded on 14 October 2026; delivered means one bottle to a UK mainland address. CPI factor 1.674 (ONS D7BT, Sep 2026 against the March to May 2009 average).
In 2009 Patrick Brossard of whisky-news.com priced 20 standard single malts at 19 online shops. We checked the same bottles at UK retailers on 14 October 2026 and put the 2009 lows into September 2026 money with the ONS consumer prices index. Switch to delivered prices to see what one bottle costs to your door.
- 8 of the 20 bottles priced in 2009 were on sale under the same name and age at the UK retailers we check; 4 have a successor and 8 were not on sale there.
- Ardbeg 10 Year Old (£45.00) and Bowmore 12 Year Old (£39.99) cost no more than their 2009 low in today’s money; Dalmore 12 Year Old rose most, to £59.00 against £46.44.
- With delivery for one bottle added, none of the 8 beat its 2009 low in today’s money (median £49.17 delivered).
Source: Patrick Brossard, Retail Prices of Whiskies in the USA, European Union and Switzerland (whisky-news.com, May 2009), retrieved 23 October 2026. Updated 23 October 2026. Free to reuse with a link to this page.
About this data: method, downloads and sources
How we did it
The 2009 basket. Patrick Brossard’s report for whisky-news.com priced 20 standard official bottlings at 19 online retailers (six in the UK, three in the US and ten in Europe and Switzerland) between 15 March and 10 May 2009, and converted every price to pounds at the xe.com rate of 14 May 2009. We use its Table 1: the average, lowest and highest price for each bottle across those retailers. The report shows UK prices only as dots on a chart, without figures, so we do not read values off the chart. The lowest price is the fairest match for today’s cheapest UK price, and the report notes the UK was the cheapest market on average, but some lowest prices may come from shops outside the UK.
Inflation. The 2009 price is multiplied by the ONS consumer prices index (all items, series D7BT, 2015 = 100) for September 2026, the latest month published (144.1), divided by the average for March to May 2009 (86.07): a factor of 1.674. This is general inflation, not a whisky-specific index.
Today’s prices. The cheapest in-stock shelf price for the matched bottle at the UK retailers we check, from confirmed listings recorded on 14 October 2026, and separately the cheapest delivered price for one bottle to a UK mainland address under each retailer’s standard service. We compare “same” bottles only when today’s name and age match the 2009 bottling; recipes, strengths and packaging may still have changed. Successor bottlings (a new age statement or a replacement) are shown but left out of the medians. Coverage: 5 retailers with 4 owners (Loch Fyne Whiskies and The Whisky Shop share an owner). We do not yet check supermarkets, Master of Malt or The Whisky Exchange, so a lower price may exist elsewhere.
What this is not. These are shop prices, then and now. They say nothing about what a bottle is worth after it is bought.
Download the data
Free to reuse with a link to this page.
Sources
- Patrick Brossard, Retail Prices of Whiskies in the USA, European Union and Switzerland (whisky-news.com, May 2009), retrieved 23 October 2026
- Archived copy of the 2009 report (Internet Archive)
- ONS, CPI INDEX 00: ALL ITEMS 2015=100 (D7BT), release of 21 October 2026, retrieved 23 October 2026
- Uisge Beatha: shelf and delivered prices at the UK retailers we check, 14 October 2026
Prices are the shelf prices we recorded at UK retailers on the dates shown and change daily. Uisge Beatha compares prices; it does not sell whisky or give investment advice. Please enjoy whisky responsibly: drinkaware.co.uk.