Kategoriarkiv: Glenkinchie

Glenkinchie Distiller’s Edition 2008/2020

ABV: 43 %
Origin: Lowlands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there are mixed fruits and berries in the center with a sweet honey and vanilla layer surrounding it. There’s also a thin veil of pipe tobacco and menthol around the edges of the glass. After some time in the glass the fruitiness mellows and becomes a bit rounded and darker. There’s also a nutty quality to it. The fresher fruits are still detectable in the background and with time a floral note also appears. This is a very nice nose with a light, yet interesting character.

Mouth: It starts out with a big hit of fresh berries together with vanilla and honey. In the background there’s an overripe fruitiness with plums and raisins peeking through. After a few seconds the layers sort of switch places. There’s still a whiff of pipe tobacco and a nutty oakiness to be found for those who wait. It’s got a nice texture to it and even though it still got a light character it doesn’t feel watery or too mild.

Finish: The finish starts with the menthol returning. It creates a nice cloud together with a floral note, sitting on top of the rest of the flavours. It mirrors the rest of the journey with the mix of fresh and dark ripe fruits, the vanilla and the honey all coming through nicely in the center. It does feel somewhat top heavy at this point though. When it starts to fade out the oakiness returns and it’s a nice hazelnut oakiness with just a hint of bitterness and black coffee. This is a very good whisky with a light character. It feels somewhat unbalanced at times during the journey, but it’s not a big issue.

Additional information
This distiller’s edition is double matured with an initial aging period in ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-Amontadillo sherry casks.

Glenkinchie 12 YO

ABV: 43 %
Origin: Lowlands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 2
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a big hit of apples and pears covered in honey. There’s also a floral side to it which sort of floats on top. Vanilla and a hint of oak are slowly emerging towards the edges of the glass. In the back there are both a sour lemon and a slightly bready note. There’s also a very mild menthol layer somewhere in between the floral and the fruity notes. This is a nice and straight forward nose without any complexity, but it doesn’t come through as boring.

Mouth: It starts out with a mix of sweet and sour. The sweetness moves forward and the sourness moves to the back which leaves room for a maltiness and some fruits in the middle. There are now grapes coming through which gives it a white wine aura. The fruitiness is somewhat subdued and the floral notes increase in intensity with time. There’s a sprinkle of dust as well as some earthy notes floating around inside. After a while the lemon note turns somewhat bitter, which actually works very well with the other flavours.

Finish: The menthol layer returns for a second or two but the rest of the flavours don’t really let it take over. It still produces the floral and fruity white wine notes, the bitter lemon and now there’s a toffee note peeking through in the middle as well. The oakiness makes a late entrance and it’s not the most interesting oak. It’s there but it lacks a bit of character. This is a very good whisky which produces some nice flavours. It’s quite mild which makes it a good choice for those who are new to whisky.

Additional information
This is one of the whiskies in the Diageo series ”The classic malts of Scotland”. It was released as the entry level of the core range in 2007. It’s aged in american ex-bourbon oak barrels.