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 lowest 2009 price.
+10% after inflation, for the standard malts still sold under their 2009 names, against the lowest 2009 price
This price comparison is temporarily unavailable while its data is refreshed. Browse current bottle comparisons instead.
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 lowest UK price, and the report notes the UK was the lowest-priced 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 lowest 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 lowest 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.