"Not the best example from this distillery with too much sherry sharpness and drying notes"
(Photo from Whiskybase)
Together with a newer version of the 15 year old, the 18 year old Glengoyne was released in 2012 to replace the 17 year old version. Building further on their sherry-anchored style, their range now goes from 10 to 30 years. Up to 21 years this lies within a fairly affordable price range, which IMHO shows that they still care about the average customer (in contrast to many other classic distilleries). Anyway, this 18-year old was mostly matured in first-fill and re-fill sherry casks resulting in a beautiful and natural sherry colour.
Nose
The expected sherry influence shows abundantly in every sniff. A balanced mix of plums, figs and raisins accompanied by a slight sourness like cranberry sauce. Clear indication of Olorose sherry with hints of port. A slight sulphur influence can be detected, which I often find with this distillery. Not a very complex nose, just a lot of sherry.
Taste
Lots of red fruits with raspberries and blackberries standing out. These transform in dried fruits like raisins, figs and plums. The palate is fairly drying, there are some sharpish notes and a decent amount of sourness. I would not call this a completely comfortable mouthfeel. More cranberries, blackberries, red berries and black currants. The fruits are the nicest par. The aftertaste brings a hint of sugared citrus peel to accompany the sappy sherry-drowned fruits.
Overall
If you like sherry, there is a decent chance you will like this whisky. However, there are many other heavily sherried releases that show a more balance profile, including several from the same distillery. The smooth cooky dough notes that I have found in other releases from Glengoyne are clearly missing here and might have been an improvement. Maybe an idea for future versions.
- Review 2020-012
- Single malt
- Glengoyne Distillery
- Glengoyne (Iain McLeod Distillers)
- 18 years old
- Unknown bottling date
- Bourbon, first-fill and re-fill sherry casks
- Natural colour
- Chill-filtered
- 43
- Undisclosed number of bottles
- ±65-75
- Still available
- Whiskybase #38137
What others say
Big thanks to for sharing the sample!
Scores
• these are my personal views, so do not take them too seriously… nothing beats tasting these for yourself •
- Dried fruits
- Red fruits
- Cranberries