There have been a couple of posts lately about local prices for SMS..(admittedly a number of them were from me) I live in Ontario Canada and we have a government monopoly on Liquor, the belief is that our prices are notably higher than everywhere else, but when I travel and compare prices things have seemed similar.. So I did a little online checking...(all shops (but one)I've been in but not necessarilly the best price in their respective markets)
Oddbins (O) and LochFyne(LF) in the UK, Park Avenue(PA) in New York, Sam's(S) in Chicago, Maison Du Whisky(MW) in Paris, Willow Park(WP) in Calgary and of course the LCBO here in Ontario..
All prices listed are in USD .. converted at the exchange rate given by the neat little conversion tool on LochFynes page on May 7
Not surprisingly (to me anyway) the best prices were at Willow Park in Calgary, probably because there is no (?) Liquor tax in Alberta. (There are other stores in Alberta that have similar pricing but the ones I know are not "On-line") The prices in Alberta were between 5 and 20% lower than the lowest prices anywhere else.
So as to everywhere else..
Aberlour 10 (vs. 23.44 in Alberta)
25.19 (LCBO) 26.99 (PA) 28.56 (MW) 34.92 (LF) 35.78 (O)Ardbeg 10 (vs. 36.44 in Alberta)
38.08 (MW) 39.99 (S) 44.57 (LF) 44.73 (O) 45.00 (PA) 53.96 (LCBO) (OUCH!)Auchentoshen 10 (N/A in Alberta)
28.80 (LCBO) 32.99 (S) 35.00 (PA) 40.63 (LF) 41.15 (O) 42.84 (MW)Dalwhinnie 15 (vs. 36.03 in Alberta)
38.68 (MW) 42.78 (LF) 42.99 (S) 44.73 (O) 46.40 (LCBO) 49.00 (PA)Glenmorangie (?wood) (vs. 37.13 in Alberta)
42.99 (S) 43.16 (LCBO) 45.22 (MW) 49.05 (LF)Highland Park 12 (vs. 32.92 in Alberta)
35.96 (LCBO) 39.99 (S) 41.65 (MW) 42.00 (PA) 44.57 (LF) 44.73 (O)Highland Park 18 (vs. 49.67 in Alberta)
62.00 (PA) 64.26 (MW) 72.99 (S) 89.32 (LF)Glenfiddich 15 (Solera) (vs. 36.45 in Alberta)
39.99 (S) 41.06 (MW) 42.78 (LF) 43.16 (LCBO) 62.00 (PA)Lagavoulin 16 (N/A in Alberta)
52.36 (MW) 62.47 (LF) 64.42 (O) 64.76 (LCBO) 76.00 (PA)Lagavoulin DE (N/A in Alberta)
71.96 (LCBO) 73.21 (LF) 73.78 (MW) 76.95 (O)Laphroaig 10 (vs. 26.32 in Alberta)
33.08 (LCBO) 34.51 (MW) 36.55 (O) 39.99 (S) 42.78 (LF) 43.00 (PA)Talasker (vs. 36.03 in Alberta)
39.27 (MW) 46.36 (LF) 46.40 (LCBO) 48.31 (O) 50.00 (PA)The MacCallan 18 (N/A in Alberta)
87.99 (S) 105.61 (LF) 110.00 (PA) 113.05 (MW) 121.70 (O) 142.56 (LCBO)Conclusions?
1) I have too much time on my hands... 2) With a couple of VERY notable exceptions most of the variation in prices can be explaned away by currancy fluctuations. 3) Prices in GB are, on average, higher than elsewhere. 4) I should be shopping for selection rather than Price 5) Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise (In Alberta) are desireable vacation destinations...N.B. I have no idea how accurate the on-line prices are... Most of these location offer on-line sales so I am assuming they keep their prices current.
conversion rates Euro = 1.19 GBP = 1.79 CAD = 0.72
Anyone willing to add their local prices to the list please e-mail them (with the currancy they are priced in) I think this would make an interesting comparisson tool...