cascode
Glen Marnoch Bourbon Cask Finish (Aldi)
Single Malt — Scotland
Reviewed
December 13, 2018 (edited October 21, 2024)
Nose: Buttery and cereal aromas, vanilla, fruitiness (apple?) and a little oak. [The dry glass has very little aroma].
Palate: A light and moderately sweet entry, developing into a little gingery spiciness and vanilla. Some malty notes but not much more. The texture is light but OK.
Finish: Short. Sweet and moderately spicy aftertaste.
Try as hard as you might you'll never find the Glen Marnoch distillery. It's purely a brand name adopted by Aldi for their middle-shelf single malt range. I picked this one up as part of a three-miniature Glen Marnoch sample pack, and I'll be reviewing the other two expressions shortly.
This whisky almost certainly comprises minimum-age blending quality whiskies produced by an undisclosed highland distillery (or distilleries). It has a certain "highland" character but is lacking in complexity. To give it its due there are no significant faults to mention, other than that it is very lightweight in all respects.
The nose is simple, but for all that it's honest and clean. The palate is likewise simple and dependent on an interplay between sweet and spicy cereal characteristics. There's not a lot more going on here, but it's not unpalatable either and at the price is reasonable value.
"Average" : 75/100 (2.5 stars)
40.0
AUD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@Soba45 Ditto - we're very partial to their porterhouse steaks. Not quite as thick as some, but good quality at half the price. @Reverend357 Hah! Snap - I was shopping today and they have the Select and also Johnnie Walker Gold Label and Double Black at crazy low prices. The power of mass purchasing.
Ah interesting I was like 'what how did I miss this distillery!' and then read further :-). I hear there have been a couple of good uns as you say. We just need them in NZ for cheaper groceries!
@Reverend357 Interesting that they sell Clynelish - I've never seen anything of that stature here. This year for the first time I've seen some Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal in their bottle section, but by far their main stock has been really cheap local wine, beer and alcopops, but it seems like they are trying to move into the middle-shelf market.
@Reverend357 On the whole their discount spirits are OK, but there's no telling. The Highland Black (their premium blend) was very good when first released but the subsequent batches were only average. Their bottom shelf blend, Highland Earl, is repulsive and barely drinkable. These NAS malts are perfectly OK so far and about the same as Glen Moray bottom-tier spirits. I have been told by a mate who tried it that their discount bourbon is pretty awful. I've not had any of the age-statement stuff. I think the main issue is that everything they sell is just made to order through 3rd party merchants who use whatever is available at the time - it's entirely possible that this NAS range will never be repeated, or if it is it may be different, either better or worse.
@Slainte-Mhath ALDI have been active in Australia for about 10 years now. Originally they only carried budget furniture and asian foods, but recently we've been getting a lot more European products, some of which are good value. The spirits ranges turned up here about 2 years ago. LIDL have also appeared here but don't have much of a market share. I think both companies have started here based on trade agreements we have with the UK - it will be interesting to see what Brexit does to that.
I didn't know that you get ALDI whiskies in Australia, interesting that. LIDL tried once to enter the Norwegian market, but they didn't make it for very long, as Norwegians tend to buy their own local products rather than cheaper imported goods.