Head to head · same category, comparable price
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old vs Laphroaig Quarter Cask
They diverge on 4 of our eight axes, most of all peaty, 0 against 9.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old | Laphroaig Quarter Cask | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Islay, Scotland |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Strength | 43% ABV | 48% ABV |
| Cask | Ex-bourbon barrel, Oloroso sherry butt | Ex-bourbon barrel, American oak quarter cask |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £50 | £44 |
| Per 10cl | £7.14 | £6.29 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £166 | £131 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both from Scotland: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old from Speyside, Laphroaig Quarter Cask from Islay.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old states 12 years; Laphroaig Quarter Cask states none.
Shared base of ex-bourbon barrel. The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old adds oloroso sherry butt; Laphroaig Quarter Cask adds american oak quarter cask.
Neither states chill filtration.
Neither set of specifications is producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old is £6.00 dearer a bottle than Laphroaig Quarter Cask.
Strength keeps that ordering: £131 a litre of pure alcohol for Laphroaig Quarter Cask against £166.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old is 22nd cheapest and Laphroaig Quarter Cask 12th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old | Laphroaig Quarter Cask |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 9 |
| Sweet | 8 | 4 |
| Fruity | 6 | 3 |
| Spicy | 4 | 6 |
| Woody | 5 | 6 |
| Sherried | 6 | 1 |
| Cereal | 5 | 4 |
| Oily | 6 | 8 |
4 of the eight axes clear 3 points; after peaty comes sherried at 6 against 1, sweet at 8 against 4 and fruity at 6 against 3.
Each bottle in its own right
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
Honey, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet without being cloying, and 43% helps.
Full record →Laphroaig Quarter Cask
Laphroaig with the volume up — more oak, more sweetness, considerably more grip at 48%.
Double matured: standard ex-bourbon barrels, then re-racked into smaller quarter casks whose greater wood-to-spirit surface area speeds maturation. Laphroaig publishes no ABV, and one UK retailer lists 41.4% — that is a data error; 48% is confirmed by two independent retailers.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old for gift and after dinner, Laphroaig Quarter Cask for value at 48% and peat lovers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old and Laphroaig Quarter Cask: thebalvenie.com, laphroaig.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.