1901
Glengoyne 12 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
October 10, 2020 (edited March 5, 2022)
Nose: Oil, salt, cinnamon, stewed apple, walnut, dusty malt
Palate: leaves, apple, lightly salty, dark chocolate with chilli, orange peel
Finish: tannic, woody, sultanas
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Last 16, Match 7:
Glengoyne 12yo versus Glenfarclas 12yo
The aroma of the Glengoyne dram was deeper but not necessarily better than the Glenfarclas 12. I’d give them a tie on that, but the Glengoyne slips behind on palate and finish mainly due to rolling echoes of tannic spice that I felt were a bit overpowering this evening. The ‘farclas manages to mute the tannic trumpet and deliver an old library elegance that wins the day.
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The intolerable torment of a whiskyphile. I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through. Selecting a dram can be confusing – like Lloyd and Harry’s budgie I can barely keep my head together. So, I have picked sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama!
https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness
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@ContemplativeFox thanks and right back at ya (x 2) You’re probably right re Glengoyne 15 but I’m still open to trying more of their stuff. Maybe a sample or in a ‘try before buy’ way though
PS Congrats on the Distiller award and thanks for adding so many bottles to the database @1901 !
Wow, I dropped the ball here. I quite like the 15, but not at the $90 it costs these days. It's toward the simple side with a full fruity and woody richness. Since you found the 12 a bit overpowering, I'd speculate that the 15 would not win you over compared with a similarly priced Glenfarclas (the 17 perhaps).
@ContemplativeFox ‘fraid I can’t help on that score - this is the first Glengoyne I’ve tried. How good is the 15yo?
I really enjoyed the Glengoyne 15 but unfortunately its price has ballooned in the last 18 months. Any chance you've tried both the 12 and 15 and can provide a comparison?
@CKarmios sounds like a nice pairing. Looks like someone had the similar idea to go with the popadoms https://www.wildfigfood.com/product/tomato-chutney-with-single-malt-scotch-whisky/
Basing this on your notes, I’m thinking the Glengoyne could go well with a curry dish, whilst Glenfarclas would be more of a dessert dram.