Glengoyne 18 Year

Chocolate and clove

N: Deep and rich. Immediately hit by a musty spice mixed with dark chocolate and some bitterness of coffee. Malty molasses and stewed apples and raisins are entwined with gentle wood shavings and vanilla. Rich, a good level of complexity, and not carried away with heavy handed sherry. P: Rich and mouth coating. A plump arrival packed with a jammy blend of raisins, cherry, fig and marzipan. Spices are gentle and reserved, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon. Dark cocoa powder and orange peel are present as a bitter back end the is joined by more marzipan. F: Medium. Sherry to the last, mocha, raisins, oranges and a creamy oak spice. This is definitely a more mature and elegant expression of Glengoyne than the younger 12. Whilst the malty distilate makes it through in places, the extra six years in Olorosso Sherry casks has definitely turned this into a cask dominated whisky. A perfectly pleasant one at that. There aren’t any rough edges to really speak of, theres enough depth and variance from nose to palate to keep it interesting. But, the major flaw I think is going to be that I wont remember much character or uniqueness by the end of the weekend. Ultimately this is a nice 18YO but its not special. Distiller whisky taste #288 [Pictured here with another Californian blueschist, this one from the Russian River in Sonoma County. This lump is riddled with red garnets that have contributed to a lovely pockmarked weathering surface. Traces of higher pressure metamorphism are preserved as green interdigitations of eclogite and silvery phengite mica (a rock comprised of green pyroxene and garnets)] Glengoyne running scores: Glengoyne 12: 2.75/5 Glengoyne 18: 3.75/4

The Glengoyne 10 and 12 year old releases are solid clean, but unremarkable Highland malts. They exemplify the spirit of the region as well as anything out there, but fail to stand out in any way. I’m hoping that Glengoyne can set themselves apart from the herd in some way with a few extra years in the barrel. Let’s see how they did. Nose: Green grape, gala apple, pear, and apricot. Plum, raspberry, blackberry, and raisin/dried cranberry. Honey dew. Milk and white chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. Fresh-baked brownie. Coconut, pineapple, and orange. Cocoa. A jammy/molasses note. Almond and macadamia. Heavy oak with white pepper, clove, and nutmeg. Palate: Vanilla, toffee, milk chocolate, malt, brownie. and butterscotch. Marshmallow. A cherry pie note with more of the plum and raisin, now with date and fig. Dried cranberry. Orange citrus/orange peel. Cocoa. Almond. Apple, pear, apricot fall into the background but are still present. Heavy oak, clove, nutmeg, and white pepper. Finish: More of the heavy malt chocolate, with vanilla, caramel, and brown sugar. Dried cranberry. Peanut butter and almond. White grape, gala apple, and pear. Plenty of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, white pepper, and of course, oak. Glengoyne really hit their mark with this one. This is a sherry-heavy malt that doesn’t fall into the category of over-sherried flamboyance that often plagues the genre. Glengoyne is methodical in their approach here. The result is a balanced effort that presents a nice merger of fruit-forward notes and a healthy dose dessert; this is absolutely the best iteration of the Glengoyne profile I’ve had to date. 4.25/5. Well worth the $129 price of entry. I’m glad to have ventured far enough into the Glengoyne line to experience a properly-matured expression. Next, I think I’ll take a half step back and go for the 15 year. Glengoyne has certainly earned my interest with this one.

From a 5cl sample. Nice rich, nutty sherry leads, honey, malt, caramel, apples, vanilla, and baking spices follow. Creamy on the palate. Unlike the 10 year and 15 year, I did not add water. Long finish with sherry, honey, malt, slight bitterness, nice heat and spicy smoulder.

Sweet rich and lovely.

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