Glengoyne 18 Year

OK back for some more reviews. Today Glengoyne 18 year. I really do want to do this side by side with a Macallan 18 but unless someone else is buying, that's not happening. I could put in next to a few other options I have but nothing else seems just right. A vs. with this however seems needed. Anyway 43%, chill filtered, and non colored. They got 1 of those 3 right. 120 bucks puts this into the reasonable all be it not great priced whisky group. At 46% I think I'd give this one high marks on price but at 43 I don't see this as value. Just reasonable. Color - not big on color reviews but as it's non colored, you can see a nice gold with some red hues. This is heavy refilled sherry barrels without a doubt and I'd guess American oak as well. Nose - First note is just vanilla, oak, and a hint of sherry. A second pull and I'm starting to see the apple some pear and some jam. Fruity but gives me more an impression of some ex bourbon barrel influence than all sherry. If all sherry there are some tired old wood in here. Taste - A lot of vanilla, it is spicy with a lot of oak notes, and then that jam. If I didn't read this was all sherry barrels I'd assume this was slightly more sherried than the disappointing 15 year. Finishes with a lot of sherry spice notes. Finish is actually pretty long as well. Overall, I'm a bit disappointed as I wanted more of a sherry explosion. So far the sample I had of the 25 year remains the dream I have with each Glengoyne, that I just get a less mature version of that master piece. Instead I just get very different expression with the 12, 15, and 18. All a good but when people tell me these guys are sherry bombs, well I guess they're talking about the 25 and perhaps the 21 which I've yet to find a bottle of. All said I'm giving this a 3 star rating. The finish is so long and lingering that it pulls up the whole rest of the issues and brings it to a 3. Without that finish I honestly could have been close to a 2 star which I believe is what I gave the 15.

The Glengoyne 10 and 12 year old releases are solid clean, but unremarkable Highland malts. They exemplify the spirit of the region as well as anything out there, but fail to stand out in any way. I’m hoping that Glengoyne can set themselves apart from the herd in some way with a few extra years in the barrel. Let’s see how they did. Nose: Green grape, gala apple, pear, and apricot. Plum, raspberry, blackberry, and raisin/dried cranberry. Honey dew. Milk and white chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. Fresh-baked brownie. Coconut, pineapple, and orange. Cocoa. A jammy/molasses note. Almond and macadamia. Heavy oak with white pepper, clove, and nutmeg. Palate: Vanilla, toffee, milk chocolate, malt, brownie. and butterscotch. Marshmallow. A cherry pie note with more of the plum and raisin, now with date and fig. Dried cranberry. Orange citrus/orange peel. Cocoa. Almond. Apple, pear, apricot fall into the background but are still present. Heavy oak, clove, nutmeg, and white pepper. Finish: More of the heavy malt chocolate, with vanilla, caramel, and brown sugar. Dried cranberry. Peanut butter and almond. White grape, gala apple, and pear. Plenty of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, white pepper, and of course, oak. Glengoyne really hit their mark with this one. This is a sherry-heavy malt that doesn’t fall into the category of over-sherried flamboyance that often plagues the genre. Glengoyne is methodical in their approach here. The result is a balanced effort that presents a nice merger of fruit-forward notes and a healthy dose dessert; this is absolutely the best iteration of the Glengoyne profile I’ve had to date. 4.25/5. Well worth the $129 price of entry. I’m glad to have ventured far enough into the Glengoyne line to experience a properly-matured expression. Next, I think I’ll take a half step back and go for the 15 year. Glengoyne has certainly earned my interest with this one.

This review is for a bottle from 2013. This is a solid sherry only maturation that exemplifies how hard it is for sherry only maturations to be memorable. Let’s discuss the 3 things I look for in a sherried whisky as it relates to Glengoyne 18: Richness. We look for the same indulgent things in a high end sherried whisky, which includes the dark preserved or candied fruits, chocolate, and sherry spices, in a thick and voluptuous mouthfeel. This whisky lacks the richness I want; citrus and grassy notes are more prominent as a result. These notes are better served by an ex-bourbon maturation. The casks for this whisky were not active enough, and this tastes about 3-4 years younger than it should. Depth. This is a big issue due to the rise of sherry seasoned casks. These casks may deliver some surprising richness upfront, but you’ll want to swallow fast before the immature base flavors appear. This whisky has great depth, and the casks were obviously real-deal ex-sherry, rather than imposter seasoned casks. You can hold this one in the mouth for quite a while, and the flavors are consistent. Absence of garbage. The main villain in sherry casks is sulfur, but there are other offputting flavors as well. There are certain distilleries (Springbank, Craigellachie, etc.) that seem to incorporate sulfur better, and even purposefully include those notes. Glengoyne is not such a distillery. This whisky is relatively clean, but slight sulfur is present, and it detracts from the experience. These days, a sherried whisky that excels in all 3 of the above areas will be most memorable for the pricetag. This whisky is reasonably priced, but it really does not stand out like an 18 year old should. Score: 0 (forgettable) How much does a bottle cost: $100-120 How much do I think a bottle is worth: $80

N: Deep and rich. Immediately hit by a musty spice mixed with dark chocolate and some bitterness of coffee. Malty molasses and stewed apples and raisins are entwined with gentle wood shavings and vanilla. Rich, a good level of complexity, and not carried away with heavy handed sherry. P: Rich and mouth coating. A plump arrival packed with a jammy blend of raisins, cherry, fig and marzipan. Spices are gentle and reserved, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon. Dark cocoa powder and orange peel are present as a bitter back end the is joined by more marzipan. F: Medium. Sherry to the last, mocha, raisins, oranges and a creamy oak spice. This is definitely a more mature and elegant expression of Glengoyne than the younger 12. Whilst the malty distilate makes it through in places, the extra six years in Olorosso Sherry casks has definitely turned this into a cask dominated whisky. A perfectly pleasant one at that. There aren’t any rough edges to really speak of, theres enough depth and variance from nose to palate to keep it interesting. But, the major flaw I think is going to be that I wont remember much character or uniqueness by the end of the weekend. Ultimately this is a nice 18YO but its not special. Distiller whisky taste #288 [Pictured here with another Californian blueschist, this one from the Russian River in Sonoma County. This lump is riddled with red garnets that have contributed to a lovely pockmarked weathering surface. Traces of higher pressure metamorphism are preserved as green interdigitations of eclogite and silvery phengite mica (a rock comprised of green pyroxene and garnets)] Glengoyne running scores: Glengoyne 12: 2.75/5 Glengoyne 18: 3.75/4

Got a sample from a friend who knows I love scotch. I liked the 12 year and the 10 was decent. Both had good flavor but lacked depth and were a little thin. The 18 is still a tad thin but corrects the depth issue. Poured neat the nose is mature and refined. The bubble gummy fruit punch has transformed into a nice orange oil rubbed executive desk complete with worn leather chair. The palate has old sherried fruits in a dank wine cellar. There is a dark roast/gym locker funk that only scotch lovers can appreciate. Finish is long aged leather and seasoned barrel oak with the dark fruit drifting away. There is a good malt presence throughout as well and the quality here is high. I am a firm believer that 18 is when scotch really starts to deliver full flavor saturation and complexity regardless of proof. This is not on the level of say the amazing Glendronich but can compete with the other famous Glens L & F 18 yr offerings. Down side is price as most bourbon guys are in constant sticker shock but I get it. This is just where you have to go price wise for longer aged scotch experience if you are a true malt lover........88/100

Glengoyne 18 was really up and down for me. I had the bottle open for about a year but I would occasionally get sour notes on the nose. Not sure why that happened and when it did, the bottle would go right back into the closet. Overall, the nose was fairly interesting but unfortunately, it was the main highlight for me. Nose: Milk Chocolate, toffee/burnt caramel, and red apples. With time the caramel evolves to notes of buttery caramel and syrup. Tastes: Clean, rich but watery, complex, and spice. Hints of apricot and a unique finish of coconut. Finish: Medium and velvety I purchased it at Remedy Liquor for a great price. However, it seems like all the Glengoyne core range whiskies have gone up in price dramatically since the end of 2019. It's currently priced at $130. At that price, I probably wouldn't get another bottle. The nose was good but the palate and finish were nothing special.