Glenglassaugh | William’s Whisky Database

ABV: 49.1 %
Origin: Highland
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a mineral rich peatiness sitting in the center with a soft coating of red, ripe berries. Vanilla, honey and a hint of ginger are also found within. When it settles roasted almonds, chalk and sweet liquorice are added to the mix as well as a fresher lemony fruitiness. Time in the glass makes this a very complex experience. This is a great nose with a lot to offer to those who are patient.

Mouth: It starts out with a dusty and sweet center with an outside layer of assorted dry and fresh berries and lemon. It’s quite dry. There’s a note of leather and tobacco in the center as well as a funky background note coming from the peat. The sweet liquorice resides on the outside and covers the palate together with the honey and vanilla. There’s a lot of complexity within which makes it very fun and interesting at this point.

Finish: The transisiton sees black pepper and sweet liquorice increasing in intensity. The lemon note is in the back and the dusty layer comes through in the center together with the ripe fruits and the leather note. After a few seconds there’s an oakiness arriving which really feels misplaced due to it’s new oak character. Everything else feels balanced, ripe and well made, but the oak character feels wrong and too pronounced. The late finish is all about that oakiness with a background note of ripe and sweet red berries. This is a very good whisky which has a slightly disappointing finish.

Additional information
This whisky was aged for 12 years in a mix of ex-bourbon barrels, ex-sherry and ex-port casks.

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ABV: 46 %
Origin: Highlands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes

Nose: This is young and very sweet. At first there’s a cloud of young, albeit well made, spirit sitting on top of a base consisting of sweet honey and butterscotch notes. The oakiness is coming through strong from the beginning. There is a sweet fruitiness somewhere in the mix but it’s hard to define. Sweet strawberries maybe. With time in the glass it leans more towards the butterscotch, honey and a nice vanilla. This is a very pleasant nose for such a young whisky.

Mouth: It starts out with a flare of the oakiness before it moves back to the butterscotch and honey. There is now a black liquorice note mixed in and the vanilla hovers on top. There’s also a rubbery/oily note far in the back which gives it some complexity. A hint of grapegruit seems to appear, but the earlier fruity notes with strawberries has disappered. Afterwards it switches over to becomes very oaky.

Finish: At first there are grapefruits and a peppermint cloud. When it settles it almost immidiately becomes oaky, but the baseline stays sweet with honey, vanilla and butterscotch. It’s a fresh woodshop oakiness with a little bit of grey oak planks mixed in. The grapefruits return in the late finish. This is a really good whisky for its age. It offers a lot of flavours and it presents a well made and tasty distillate with a lot of potential.

Additional information
This is the first whisky to be released with spirit made after the reopening of the distillery in 2008. It’s aged in first fill ex-bourbon barrels for three years and then finished for 6 months in first fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.