Back when the Glengoyne 17-year-old was still on the market, I bought a few bottles and enjoyed them. The price-to-product ratio was quite a bit more favorable than with the Glengoyne 18-Year-Old. Some people might contend the quality was actually better in the younger offering, but I’m not so sure. It was a bit sharper, in my view, and less accommodating on the palate. The nose was a little bit more complex, however.
Glengoyne distillery makes a point not to use any peat to dry the malted barley. As a result, its offerings tend to appeal to folks who like to avoid smoke, as well as peat. You’ll get none of that in here. What’s more, the whisky is quite dark for an 18-year-old, and there is no artificial coloring, whatsoever. I really appreciate the high quality sherry casks used. This said, I think Glengoyne 18-Year-Old would be even better without chill filtration. Why? Because chill filtering tends to remove some of the more rough-and-tumble eccentricities in the wash that can actually be quite interesting, at least to whisky mavens.
Because Glengoyne distillery is a hop, skip and a jump north of Glasgow, the destination is popular with tourists who are passing through Scotland and want to visit something close to the airport. In fact, if the traffic is light, it’s quite feasible to get there in under one hour of driving. Speedy lead foots have been known to make the drive in almost half that time. One little-known charming point-of-interest for visitors who fly into the airport is that the distillery is located near Dumgoyne, a hill that is actually visible from Glasgow.
Tasting Notes: Glengoyne 18-Year-Old
Vital Stats: 43% ABV; 100% malted barley; price for a 700ml bottle varies between $90-160.
Nose: Madagascar vanilla, honeycomb; butterscotch; cardamom; cocoa powder; orange gumdrops; Granny Smith apple skins; banana chips; white mustard seed. There’s also a bit of grassiness that reminds me of a Lowland whisky.
Palate: The mouth feel is better for me without adding any water. I’m getting a big fudgey note right from the start – far more chocolate than is present in the nose. There’s a seamless integration of sherry and spirit, which combine to deliver a uniform malty sweetness that runs the gamut from toffee to marzipan to some pepper from the oak. This malt presence is far richer than one usually encounters in a whisky of the same class. A bit of potpourri comes through on the finish with a lovely spiciness, along with a milky Ceylon black tea tea note.
Finish: Medium in length, but I suspect it would be longer at 46%. No matter. That Ceylon tea note lingers on the tongue (without milk), together with some white bread toast, and mild pepper. An herbal finish flirts with honey and toffee, and then goes green at the death, with thyme and nettle.
I would say the cask presence waves in the direction of a Springbank’s dunnage warehouse dankness, before retreating back into dry, sunny, autumnal fields of a more rarefied spirit with an altogether cleaner composition.
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Final Thoughts
The last wee bit of finish cannot help but reveal its Highland breeding. I must say the rather solemn and circumspect finish is what boosts this dram up a little higher in my estimation than the less predictable Glengoyne 17-Year-Old. There’s really nothing to dislike, and much to enjoy. Yes, yes . . . I know that quite a few reviewers pine for the lost wonders of what they no longer can buy or taste, but I do remember some bitterness and off-putting rindy notes, which I did not relish, in the earlier sibling.
For some reason, I don’t miss the fact that Glengoyne 18-Year-Old single malt Scotch is averse to risk-taking. In fact, now I’m wondering if this whisky might indeed be one of the few cases in which I actually appreciate chill filtration. Is such a thing possible?
Even strange bedfellows “make good” from time to time. The combination of tastes and scents in the bottle is quite enchanting, like a beautiful spinster. Indeed, this middle-aged malt seems rather confident that she has earned her place in my liquor cabinet. Who am I to disagree? Come to me, my darling . . . come.
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