Head to head · same region
Glenfiddich 12 Year Old vs The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release)
These two are not in the same bracket: £1130 a litre of pure alcohol for The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) against £136 for Glenfiddich 12 Year Old.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Glenfiddich 12 Year Old | The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Speyside, Scotland |
| Age | 12 years | 18 years |
| Strength | 40% ABV | 43% ABV |
| Cask | Ex-bourbon American oak, European oak | Sherry-seasoned European oak |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £38 | £340 |
| Per 10cl | £5.43 | £49 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £136 | £1130 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both Speyside whiskies, from different distilleries.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) states 18 years, 6 more on paper.
Cask as each producer describes it: Glenfiddich 12 Year Old in ex-bourbon american oak and european oak, The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) in sherry-seasoned european oak.
Neither states chill filtration.
Colour: Glenfiddich 12 Year Old silent, The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) natural colour.
Glenfiddich 12 Year Old: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) is £302 dearer a bottle than Glenfiddich 12 Year Old.
Strength keeps that ordering: £136 a litre of pure alcohol for Glenfiddich 12 Year Old against £1130.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Glenfiddich 12 Year Old is 17th cheapest and The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) the dearest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Glenfiddich 12 Year Old | The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 6 | 7 |
| Fruity | 7 | 6 |
| Spicy | 3 | 5 |
| Woody | 4 | 7 |
| Sherried | 3 | 9 |
| Cereal | 5 | 4 |
| Oily | 4 | 8 |
Furthest apart on sherried, 3 against 9, then oily, 4 against 8. 3 of the eight axes clear 3 points: sherried, oily and woody.
Level only on peaty, 0 each.
Each bottle in its own right
Glenfiddich 12 Year Old
Pear and green apple over light malt. The reference point for accessible Speyside.
Full record →The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release)
Dense dried fruit, clove and old leather. Magnificent, and priced accordingly.
Sold as a dated annual release, not a continuous bottling — Macallan catalogues 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 as separate products, so the spec must be re-checked per release.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: Glenfiddich 12 Year Old for first single malt and highball, The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) for occasion bottle and sherry-cask benchmark.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Glenfiddich 12 Year Old and The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release): glenfiddich.com, themacallan.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.