Glen Garioch 12 Year

Nose: Leather, lemon, honey, a light waft of wildflowers. Some furtive sherry cask aromas in the background. After resting in the glass I noticed hay, earth, machine oil and a briny maritime quality. Nosing this is like walking through a newly harvested field beside the sea on a sunny day. Palate: Sweet, malty arrival with morello cherries and papaya. A touch of ginger together with grassy herbal notes in the development. A scritch of black pepper and smoked capsicum, and towards the finish the sweet character returns. Whisky with progression – yay! There is a zesty citrus and spice quality and the texture is lightly oily. Finish: Medium. Black tea with a mild spicy sweet citric aftertaste. This one flew right under my radar when it first came out and I've ignored it for a decade, but I’m very happy I finally got around to tasting it, and even happier that it is still available as a core-range product. The nose gains a dusty floral aroma with water but it loses more than it gains. The neat nose on this is lovely so don’t bruise it. Water develops a creaminess on the palate but it also elevates the spice notes above the base malty character, which is a pity. All in all, take this one neat. A word to the wise … are Hazelburn, Kilkerran or Ben Nevis scarce in your neck of the woods? Give this a try. Tasted from a 30ml sample. My glass is empty now and I want another pour – bottle ordered without hesitation. “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

- Single malt scotch whisky - 48% ABV - Sem filtragem gelada - Garrafa de 1 litro (retail stores) - Região: Highlands Aroma: frutado, morangos frescos, frutos vermelhos em geral, notas de sherry muito presentes, um pouquinho de baunilha, toffee, adocicado, figos, amadeirado, condimentado, noz moscada, herbal, canela, malte bem evidente, caramelo, e nada de álcool. Aromas muito agradáveis e complexos! Palato: amanteigado, frutado, herbal, adocicado, toffee, condimentado, notas de sherry bem evidentes, morangos e frutos vermelhos, amadeirado, amargor gentil, picante, um pouco de álcool (48%, nada mais natural!!!) e boa oleosidade. O sabor é excelente! Finalização: média para longa, com amargor e dulçor bem balanceados. As notas de sherry são muito presentes, mas não uma bomba. Impressões gerais: este whisky deixa qualquer apreciador de bons whiskies feliz! Complexidade, qualidade e com um preço extremamente acessível! Os sabores e aromas do Glen Garioch são muito intensos, e é impressionante a qualidade dos barris utilizados em sua maturação. Uma experiência muito agradável e um whisky que não dá vontade de parar de degustar. Apesar de seu AVB elevado, em nenhum momento isso faz com que a degustação seja desagradável, o que reforça a qualidade e o cuidado na maturação deste whisky! Excelente 12 anos que certamente voltará a fazer parte do meu bar pessoal.

At first nosing, I’m reminded of Redbreast 12 Irish Whiskey. A jammy, fruity bouquet ensues starting with strawberry, raspberry, red currant, red pear, pink lady apple, and a touch of pink grapefruit. I also get some vanilla taffy, and just a whiff of sea air. Sweet and tart on the tongue, with plenty of salted caramel and citrus, both orange and lemon. Stewed fruits and vanilla pastry follow. I also get some spicy heat in the form of white pepper and allspice. It reminds me of a Fruits of the Forest pie. Good legs start out slowly, falling as a tight sheet until forming fat droplets about mid-glass that suddenly pick up speed and become streaking bolts amidst scattered clouds. Syrupy in the mouth, but not too heavy. A medium, bittersweet finish finally shows the sherry oak influence with plenty of nutty tannins, Ceylon tea, and red grape skins. There’s a chalkiness to it as well that makes the finish interesting at first but then becomes a bit too dusty. Add a dash of water to tone down the sweet and heat, and give a little creaminess to the body. A delicious “old school” malt. Nose: 9 Taste: 9 Body: 9 Finish: 7

This full-bodied Scotch from Glen Garioch (pronounced 'Glen Geery') presents a complexity of flavours that made sipping lengthy, enjoyable and worth savouring. Observe the slow, trickling legs along the walls of your glass and expect a long finish with a flavour profile that continuously evolves on your palate. Given the number of years its been aged and the cost of a bottle, I'd argue that this underrated single malt makes fantastic value. There is much to be discovered from this old, quiet easterly distillery located in Oldmeldrum, Scotland and I'm hoping to explore more of what they have to offer. This was a very impressive first impression to say the least! NOSE: Smoke, light peat, salted caramel, dried cherries, almond, marzipan, oak, sweetened chestnut purée PALATE: Smoke, salt, Heather, poached pears, caramel, Sherry, malt, subtle licorice FINISH: Light peat, salt, caramelized pears, malt, light oak, green tea leaves Rating: 87/100 Grade: B+ Great - always want to have a bottle.

On the nose pear jumps out first, then hay/grass, damp, floral. Maybe a slight honey note. The palate has a sharpness to it. Something like a white cheese or yogurt comes to mind. Malty. Some leather. There's a honey-apple sweetness in there, but this isn't an especially sweet dram. Slightly underripe pear. Some vanilla. A little bitterness at the finish. Leather. I think this has the potential to grow on me. It comes across as somewhat challenging and definitely not a beginner-level dram. I can definitely see some resemblance to something Campbeltowny like Springbank/Kilkerran (see the review by @cascode who makes the connection. Also thanks to him as a good part of my decision to purchase was due to his review). Interesting whisky. I'll likely update this review as I make my way through the bottle. Update: This has been growing on me. Vanilla, honey, leather. Upping score to 4.0.

Non-chillfiltered and quite potent, this single malt smacks you upside the head to notice its character. A beautiful amber (not certain if colour is added), slender but slow legs. Shnoz: Grassy and fresh with a delayed ethanol kiss, faint heather. Buds: Dessert honeyed pears and flambéd peaches, big heathery and pungent maltiness, a tad creamy too. Coda: Lingering malt and heather with a dried fruit (fig?) pop. Fairly lasting I'd say. The 48% surely accentuates all the flavour you will perceive- which is much appreciated. This humble distillery with old roots that has changed hands several times stays true to their heritage and delivers an exceptional taste of what a Highland malt should evoke. It's scarce up in these parts so I snatch what I can and savour patiently til more would arrive!