Monday 21 December 2015

Best Spirit Prices ( Whisky and Cognac ) in Melbourne Australia



INTRODUCTION

Most of us would have seen Dan Murphy's advertisements where they claim that they check their competitor's prices everyday before their stores open. And if they find a lower price somewhere, they will beat it. They even mentioned that I am unlikely to find a lower price, but if I do, they will beat it on the spot.

Well, today I am going to show you that I managed to get lower prices versus Dan Murphy's online price for 2 bottles of Cognac XO and one of them from a Dan Murphy's store in South Melbourne!!!

One would think that buying spirits at the Duty Free Outlets in Melbourne International Airport (First Duty Free) would be cheaper than the liquor stores in Melbourne where we need to pay GST. Well, I am going to show you that this is not the case!

DAN MURPHY'S VERSUS BWS VERSUS LIQUORLAND

Did you know that both Dan Murphy's and BWS are owned by Woolworths? And since they are owned by the same people and Dan Murphy's guarantees the lowest prices, one would expect to pay less for the same bottle at Dan Murphy's compared to BWS. This is generally the case, for example, in November 2015, BWS was selling the Jack Daniels Gift Pack with Hip Flask for AUD50 and Dan Murphy's cheaper by one cent, i.e. AUD49.99!!!

Generally Dan Murphy's sell their spirits at lower prices compared to BWS and Liquorland. For example, here's the price of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Old No.7 700ml at Dan Murphy's, BWS and Liquorland at AUD39.95, AUD42, and AUD43.00 respectively. 

Having said the above, sometimes you can find a better deal for a particular spirit at BWS and Liquorland when either of them have a promo compared to Dan Murphy's price. It's best to compare online before getting your next bottle and don't assume that Dan Murphy's price is always the lowest. 

The thing with BWS is that you can order online via Woolworths website and sometimes get to earn cash back, too, with Woolworths Reward Card.

DAN MURPHY'S LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEE DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN'T GET A LOWER PRICE FOR THE SAME BOTTLE ELSEWHERE

I am a Dan Murphy's member and I do visit their outlet in Melbourne CBD very frequently since my apartments is a mere 2 minutes walk away, haha. I have bought many types of wines and spirits from Dan Murphy's and their promotion for cognac can be pretty good. 

For example, their online and Melbourne stores are selling the Martell XO 700ml at AUD224.99. However, prior to Father's Day in 2015, they had a promotion and was selling it for AUD199. That's more than a 10% discount.

And if you are a Dan Murphy's member, until the end of December 2015, you will get to buy the Martell Cordon Bleu 700ml for just AUD165 versus their normal price of AUD199. That's like 20% discount! This is the lowest price I have seen for a bottle of Martell Cordon Bleu 700ml Cognac in Melbourne Australia.

Having said the above, Dan Murphy's online price for a particular spirit may not necessarily be the lowest. And I shall now give you two examples.

Example No.1 - Courvoisier XO Cognac

Dan Murphy's is selling the Courvoisier XO 700ml for AUD128.99 online and in their Melbourne stores. Click here to visit Dan Murphy's Online Store. And if I am not mistaken, they did offer it a few months back for AUD109; BUT only if you purchase it online, which means you may need to pay for shipping.

I have managed to purchase a bottle of Courvoisier XO 750ml for just AUD99.99 from Nicks Wine Merchant in Doncaster. Therefore, Nicks Wine Merchant is selling the Courvoisier for AUD28.99 less than Dan Murphy's!!! There's a Dan Murphy's right opposite Nicks Wine Merchant. So much for Dan Murphy's Lowest Price Guarantee, hahaha. Click here to visit Nicks Wine Merchant website.


The price of the Courvoisier XO 700ml of AUD99.99 by Nicks Wine Merchant is not a promo but their actual retail price. Below is a photo taken at Nicks Wine Merchant store in Doncaster showing the price of the Courvoisier XO.

Nicks Wine Merchant is selling the Courvoisier XO Cognac cheaper than Dan Muphy's BUT not the Hennessy XO. Their Courvoisier VSOP and Hennessy VSOP is also more expensive than Dan Murphy's.
I did buy a bottle of the Courvoisier XO from Nicks Wine Merchant for AUD99.99 and the interesting thing is that on the box and bottle, it is stated 750ml!!!

Example No.2 - Hennessy XO Cognac

So far, the cheapest price I have seen for a bottle of Hennessy XO Cognac 700ml is at Dan Murphy's (online and at their CBD store) where it is being sold for AUD209.99. 


Recently, I visited Dan Murphy's store in South Melbourne and to my pleasant surprise, the price of the Hennessy XO was listed at AUD194.90!!! Please refer to the image below.

Like I mentioned, the normal price of AUD209.99 at Dan Murphy's for the Hennessy XO is one of the lowest I have seen (prior to my visit to their South Melbourne Store). But the price of AUD194.90 at their South Melbourne store was even better. Therefore, I requested a staff to get me a bottle from the locked shelf. And when the bottle was scanned at the checkout, it was shown as AUD209.99. So I told the cashier that the shelf price was AUD194.90. Dan Murphy's will honour the price of their products shown in their shelf. The cashier verified what I told him and rectified the amount and I paid AUD194.90 for the Hennessy XO 700ml :)

From the above,it can be concluded that sometimes one can even get a better price at a particular Dan Murphy's store compared to what they advertise online.

SEARCH FOR THE SPECIAL WHISKY OR COGNAC

It is undeniable that Dan Murphy's selection of whisky and cognac is huge BUT they may not carry what you are looking for.

There are many liquor merchants throughout Australia offering Whisky and Cognac which are not being sold in Australia. Below are few of them:


I have mentioned Nicks Wine Merchant earlier and I did drop by their store. They have a very limited range of cognac (they still have the Hennessy Paradis selling for AUD899 as of December 2015) but their whisky range is really wide. For example, they have more than 10 different Macallans on their shelf, several versions of the Kavalan (Taiwan) and even the Limited Edition Yamazaki 2015! However, I did not see the Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique which was awarded the title of Best Single Malt Whisky in 2015 (I did manage to buy a bottle of the award winning Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique  in Malaysia, click here to see it).

Kavalan Whisky from Taiwan
See the Limited Edition Yamazaki - available in Melbourne!

More than 10 different Macallans Single Malt Whisky at Nicks Wine Merchant


Old Richmond Cellars specializes in imported liquor from all over the world and they have a pretty good range of limited edition cognacs (e.g. Hennessy Paradis, Paradis Imperial, Private Reserve, Richard and 250th Anniversary Blend) and whiskys.



If you can find that special spirit you are looking for, check out The Distinct Whiskey Company which is an online retailer based in New South Wales Australia.They have a selection of very high quality spirits including the so called Best Cognac in The World 2015, Gautier XO Gold and Blue, which I have been searching for. Please refer image below, they're selling the Courvoisier XO 1L for only AUD139!!!



If you are a pure whisky drinker, this is the place to go as their selection is amazing. They offer whisky from all over the world including the Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique (out of stock as of December 2015), Yamazaki 18 Years (also out of stock as of December 2015) and also discontinued whiskies.

World of Whisky is located at Double Bay New South Wales.


First Choice Liquor also has many stores throughout Australia. And sometimes they sell a certain liquor cheaper than Dan Murphy's. So, before you order online, check them out.
DUTY FREE  SPIRITS IN AUSTRALIA ARE NOT NECESSARILY CHEAPER

One would think that the spirits that we buy at Duty Free Outlets in Melbourne International Airport would be cheaper than say Dan Murphy's. Generally for whisky such as Johnnie Walker and Jack Daniel's, that's true but not neccesarily the case for cognac. I shall now show you why I say so:

 Below are the prices of Cognac being sold at First Duty Free versus Dan Murphy's (DM) price:

Courvoisier XO 1L $250 or $0.25 per ml versus DM's 700ml $128.99 or $0.184 per ml.

Hennessy XO 1L $305 or $0.305 per ml versus DM's $209.99 700ml or $0.30 per ml.

First Duty Free is selling the Louis XIII 700ml for $3820 versus Dan Murphy's $3491!!!


 

CONCLUSION

Dan Murphy's is a good place to start with when you intend to buy any spirits and even wine. Generally their prices are very competitive but it is always good to shop around and compare prices. As I mentioned earlier, I do frequent Dan Murphy's at their Melbourne CBD QV store as it is very near my apartment. And they often offer gift sets and I have bought several from them which I have posted in my other blog called GenX Spirits at www.genxspirits.wordpress.com

The gift sets which I have bought at Dan Murphy's are as follows (click the individual links below to see them):




Also click here to my World's Best Whisky and Cognac Page to find out what was the World's Best Single Malt Whisky 2015, Cognac 2015, Armagnac 2015 and also the Best Whisky in the World for 2015 and 2016 according to the Whisky Bible. 

Actually, I have bought and tried the World's Best Single Malt Whisky 2015 which I have mentioned above. And I mentioned above that I now know where to buy the World's Best Cognac 2015 in Australia. Now, I am going to show you live images of the World's Best Armagnac which I cannot seem to find in Australia, i.e. Chabot Extra, which I bought at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Malaysia for MYR1233 before discount.







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