Head to head · same category, comparable price
Ardbeg 10 Year Old vs The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask
They diverge on 3 of our eight axes, most of all peaty, 9 against 0.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Ardbeg 10 Year Old | The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Islay, Scotland | Speyside, Scotland |
| Age | 10 years | 12 years |
| Strength | 46% ABV | 40% ABV |
| Cask | Ex-bourbon barrel | Ex-bourbon American oak, Oloroso sherry-seasoned American oak |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £48 | £72 |
| Per 10cl | £6.86 | £10 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £149 | £257 |
| Chill-filtered | No | Not stated |
What separates them
Both from Scotland: Ardbeg 10 Year Old from Islay, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask from Speyside.
The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask states 12 years, 2 more on paper.
Cask as each producer describes it: Ardbeg 10 Year Old in ex-bourbon barrel, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask in ex-bourbon american oak and oloroso sherry-seasoned american oak.
Chill filtration: Ardbeg 10 Year Old is not, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask does not say.
Colour: Ardbeg 10 Year Old natural colour, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask silent.
The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask is £24 dearer a bottle than Ardbeg 10 Year Old.
Strength keeps that ordering: £149 a litre of pure alcohol for Ardbeg 10 Year Old against £257.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Ardbeg 10 Year Old is 18th cheapest and The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask 29th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Ardbeg 10 Year Old | The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 9 | 0 |
| Sweet | 3 | 7 |
| Fruity | 4 | 6 |
| Spicy | 5 | 4 |
| Woody | 4 | 5 |
| Sherried | 1 | 7 |
| Cereal | 4 | 4 |
| Oily | 7 | 6 |
3 of the eight axes clear 3 points; after peaty comes sherried at 1 against 7 and sweet at 3 against 7.
Level only on cereal, 4 each.
Each bottle in its own right
Ardbeg 10 Year Old
Tar, lime and soot, then a long smoked-vanilla finish. Bracing rather than comfortable.
Ardbeg's own page states the whisky is matured solely in ex-bourbon casks and is non-chill filtered, with no sherry component at all — unusual for a flagship Islay malt. It is bottled at 46% where most competitors at the price sit at 40%.
Full record →The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask
Butterscotch, orange and a dry oak finish. Polished and very easy to like.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: Ardbeg 10 Year Old for first serious peated malt and value at 46%, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask for gift and introduction to sherry cask.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Ardbeg 10 Year Old and The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask: ardbeg.com, themacallan.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.