Glenglassaugh Evolution

nice nose

Butterscotch blast right up front. Vanilla. Pear. Hints of cotton candy. Something floral - maybe honeysuckle and a waft of jasmine. You could nose this until your lungs gave out with only the barest hint of ethanol which is surprising at 100 proof. Not mind-blowing, but overall is whimsical, sweet and pleasant. The palate is kettle corn drizzled with salted caramel and a hint of cayenne. Vanilla. Crisp red table grape that vaguely offers some fruity essence but ends up mostly just being a juicy fructose sweetness. Apple juice (but not oxidized cider). An edge of that sweet but tangy cereal/peach/apricot youthful barley distillate that is all over many American single malts, but is incorporated into the whole competently. That floral note makes its way over too, maybe some rosewater. Sweet American whiskey notes are front and center, layered over a well-executed, well-proofed, briney distillate. Youth is notable, but doesn’t detract from the experience and in my opinion this doesn’t taste “too young”. Extremely pleasant and easy to sip despite the proof - well, perhaps because of the proof, which saves it from straying toward monotone with a little rough edge. Sugar. Butter. Salt. Fruit. Floral. You could do worse. While this may come up short of many flagship age-stated Scotches, I’ve only gotten a few for $40 that I’d prefer to this. At $50 the competition is fiercer. It seems to share more kinship with American single malt and good luck finding too many that are better. A great value at $40. You do you at $50. Pass at $60.

The smell! Vanilla, baked goods, pie. The taste is definitely rye forward.

Very good honey notes here!

Light and easy

OVERALL: Very unusual and a refreshing change; the high ABV saves this one from being sour apple fruit juice. Weighted score 6.8/10 COLOUR: Very light yellow; Ardbeg -1. LEGS: Very thick clothesline; medium-slow to develop; a few big drops are slow to fall; then the rest fall very very slowly; this portends a viscous mouth-feel. NOSE: Delicate; very citrus and sour apple; like your juice mackintosh apple slices are soaking in lemon juice; a bit of dry grassy meadow; predominantly sour. Score 6/10 TASTE: Oily; dry; very sugary sweet; moderate alcohol kick; candy apples; sweet and tart at the same time; a little saltiness near the end. Score 7/10 FINISH: Long and lingering alcohol bite; warming and drying. Score 8/10 IMAGERY: Laying in the field beside the apple orchard on a hot late summer day; rotting apples on the ground; birds and bees flying by overhead.