Highland Park 18 Price

[James T]

Browsing TWE with the intention of placing another order and noticed that the Highland Park 18 price is now £99.95 Thinking it may be a mistake i had a look around a few of the better known whisky retailers online and many are around £100 and the it is £95 direct from the Highland Park website. This is simply taking the *** in my opinion and they can keep it. I noticed that the Highland Park no age statement travel retail whiskies are now finding there way into the domestic market i assume the age statement prices have been rearranged to accomodate the overpriced no age statement range on the same shelf.

Well Highland Park if you are reading this, i have been buying your whisky for years and £100 for your standard 18 year old is taking the *** out of your customers and so is your young no age statement travel retail range which i have had the misfortune to try.

I do have a few bottles of Highland Park tucked away from the 12 up to the 30 year old but i wont be buying any more.

[mondo]

It can still be found for under £80 a bottle online. Fact of life that stuff goes up in price though I'm afraid. The Government isn't helping by taxing the stuff to death either!!!

I go up to the Distillery a couple of times a year (The Mother i n Law has a nice view of the Pagodas from her kitchen window) and the staff are always happy to cut a deal.

[Alexppp]

That's a pity, the HP18 is one of my all-time favourite whiskies... I remember around three years ago when I bought it for £30 at Tesco (granted, this appeared to be a mistake on Tesco's part when it was supposed to be £60!) Luckily the 12 still remains at a good price for what it is.

[James T]

[Samson]

$150 here for the Highland Park 18 which is around 80 pounds

[albo]

It's a complete and utter *** take at that price.

Mondo the distilleries must love you with that attitude, things do go up yes. Inflation is a wonderful thing but in 2012 that whisky was £60 -£65 generally. Tax hasn't moved since then and I'm fairly sure inflation hasn't shifted 35% or the economy as we know it would be ******.

It's profiteering nothing more nothing less. Same with these greek god ranges of 15yo for £140. They are taking the *** out of the consumer. Lap these things up all you want HP will happily keep feeding you the marketing shit to help you justify the cost.

Nothing Will change with these price points until more people do what James is doing.

The price right now might not be at that tipping poibt for you Mondo, I'm not suggesting you do anything if you feel that price is fair. Perhaps when the 18yo reaches £150 or £200 you might feel that's the point to make a stand.

Me, I'm with James £100 for their 18yo OB is just too much. And I'm not going to be ripped off any more.

[bifter]

I got a bottle of this after Whisky Fringe 2012, using vouchers from the event, for £50. At the time that was still a high price for an 18yo but the RRP was £65. When it went up to £80 I remember thinking that I was unlikely to taste it again, barring other whisky events.

If some places are still selling it at £80 and others at £100 (RMW and Whisky Exchange included, not just the cowboys), it suggests to me that the latter is now the RRP for new stock they have coming in.

The HP 18 is perhaps the best OB whisky I've tasted for its age, but a 54% price hike in less than two years on what was already a premium price is gouging, plain and simple. But, if they can get that price from people, there's nothing to stop them. When demand hits a wall, prices go exponential, that's Economics 101. Bye bye HP 18, was nice knowing you.

In case anyone is interested in stocking up, I saw it here for £75 inc. delivery:

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=2175
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"Whisky is liquid sunshine."
[George Bernard Shaw]

[Quaich1]

[Kray]

Sadly it is probably an indication of the way prices of other distillery bottling 18 year olds are going to go very soon as i doubt Highland Park would be going it alone with this pricing. Over a 50% increase in price since 2012 is enormous and it is about time the government and the likes of the office of fair trading take a look at the whisky companies. I doubt very much that each company are acting individually with these huge price increases over such a short period.

[Alastair]

You may be right Kray, £100 may well be the average price of a distillery bottling of 18 years old whisky in the near future if some of the big companies have their way.

[whisky_rob]

Obviously distilleries are taking a bigger cut but their costs have gone up quite a lot in the last few years as well.

For example the cost of a decent cask has soared, the basic cost of grain has gone up massively in the last few years and the companies costs for utilities such as gas and electric will be like ours add in logistic costs with higher fuel prices.

I'm sure that they are making a bigger profit too, but all that extra cost isn't just extra profit.

[Genuine Risk]

I am not denying that cost will have gone up at some points in the business but malting barley was back a lot last year. As a business we have cut our heating and electricity bills by quite a bit without using less, I don't assume distilleries have done the same but would like to hope so.

Also they are getting significantly more for draff etc.
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Putting the func in dysfunctional.

[Carson]

I would love to see the production cost figures but i suspect these price increases are more to do with profit than covering costs.

[whisky_rob]

[Genuine Risk]

The predictions for distilling barley this year are still for prices to stay low. At the moment reduced sowing due to poor price is more likely to have an impact.
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Putting the func in dysfunctional.