Glenkinchie 12 Year

The story of Glenkinchie and its late – and now reborn – sister Rosebank is an interesting one. Rosebank was founded in the 18th century, just a few decades after its sister Glenkinchie. Both were in the Lowlands. At Rosebank, there was no beautiful scenery, as it was close to the Forth & Clyde canal. The flow of water in the canal was interrupted due to debris. Glenkinchie is still located today in the Kinchie Burn valley (hence Glen-Kinchie), a beautiful place, close to the charming village of Pencaitland. In 1914, Rosebank, Glenkinchie and three other distilleries in the region decided to found a commercial group called Scottish Malt Distillers, which was bought by the Distillers Company Limited in 1919 and which later became the giant Diageo. Legend has it that in 1993, Diageo decided to close one distillery in the Lowlands, to concentrate its investment in the other. Rosebank was considered the queen, as its whiskeys were among the best in Scotland. Those at Glenkinchie, however, were considered merely good. The logic would have been to close Glenkinchie, and Rosebank, but this distillery was on a viewless canal and Glenkinchie, in a postcard Scottish landscape. Furthermore, Glenkinchie was chosen for the Classic Malts of Scoland, Diageo's select group representative by region (it includes Talisker, Lagavulin and Oban, among others). Diageo also wanted to build a beautiful visitor center and on that subject, there was no discussion. Rosebank's fate was sealed by its appearance. Of course, there are other factors at play. Glenkinchie was better known, thanks to the Classic Malts group. Its productive capacity was also superior. Rosebank, in turn, despite the quality of its whiskeys, only played a supporting role. Glenkinchie 12 years old is a whiskey with a light and delicate body. The lightness is due to the size and bulb shape of its stills, which encourage reflux. Due to the sensorial characteristics, the educated guess is that the maturation is done in American oak that previously contained bourbon whiskey. This makes sense, if we consider that the other expression in its portfolio – the Glenkinchie Distiller’s Edition – is finished in ex-sherry European oak barrels, and is of the same age. It is a floral and slightly bitter whiskey, with a slightly sulfuric and short finish. Even though it is not a very complex and expensive malt for what it offers, it is easy to drink. Source: Cão Engarrafado.

After my solid experience with the now-extinct Glenkinchie 10-year, it only makes sense to take on its successor as the distiller’s flagship bottling. Let’s see what the extra two years does for GK. Nose: Big on dried-apricot and golden raisin. A little less prominent by still present are apple and pear. Lemon zest. Green tea. Lots of vanilla, caramel, malt, and toffee. Almond. Cocoa, tobacco smoke, and black pepper. Ginger as well. Some floral notes in the background, rounded with oak. Palate: Orange and lemon citrus, black pepper, tobacco smoke, and cocoa. Big apricot supplemented by pear and apple. Vanilla, butterscotch, graham cracker, toffee, and caramel. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and oak. Finish: Coffee, vanilla, toffee and malt. Apricot and lemon. Cocoa, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Medium-length. A clean, solid Lowland. Excellent stuff. It’s a more polished version of the 10-year, as is expected of a bottling two years its elder. It’s a simple, yet enjoyable whisky. A bit expensive at $60 for a 12-year. That aside, we have here another solid representative of Diageo’s Classic Malt range. The best Lowland I’ve had. 4/5.

This might be the lightest-colored whisky I’ve ever seen. It has an unexpectedly mild aroma. When the bottle is opened, a very sweet scent emerges. There’s a honey-like sweetness, followed by a citrusy note that, upon longer sniffing, resembles apple. There’s also a background aroma I can’t quite identify—it’s reminiscent of chocolate, but I don’t think that’s what it is. The first sip fills the mouth, but there’s no burning or sourness. Overall, it has a neutral taste. The woody flavor it leaves on the palate fades immediately after swallowing. Despite being aged 12 years, it leaves no burn in the throat. It’s the first time I’ve found a whisky more neutral than Glenmorangie. It’s a good whisky for simply enjoying scotch and sipping it with pleasure, but for those looking for complexity or excitement, it might come as too ordinary.

In honour of my 150th review on Distiller, I'll be enjoying a flight of three single malts that I haven't tried before.  They're the last 3 samples from the "Regions of Scotland" set I picked up from Drinks by the Dram. Representating the Lowlands is Glenkinchie 12 year. The only other lowland distillery I've tried is Auchentoshan of which I'm a big fan. Nose:  Honey, green grape, cereal Palate: Fruity, pear, grape jam, apple brandy Finish:  Medium length, malty, apple If I was blind tasting, I'd have guessed this was the Speyside (that was actually the Benrinnes 15). Overall, I quite enjoyed the crisp, clean flavor of this dram. Unfortunately a bottle of this is a little overpriced where I am in Canada, so probably won't be having this again for a while.

This is pricey for a 12 yr but not many lowlands out there. Nose is floral pear and malt with nutmeg spiced oak. Rich and inviting aroma. Palate is thick flavored poached pear simmered in baking spices and butter. There is malt, honey, heather, oak and a pinch of salt balancing the sweet. Finish is long fade of palate with slightly drying tannins at close. This is a highly satisfying malt but needs to clipped by a few $ to truly compete. Kept from 4 star by value only......89/100......superior to many 12 yr malts including the similar Aultmore and nipping at the heels of Cragganmore. Actually reminds me a lot of Dalwinnie 15. If this was under $60 its an easy 4 star

I am always reluctant to re-review these generic single malts, as disappointment is almost inevitable. On the nose, Glenkinchie 12 is soft and floral with crisp apples, lemon peel and beeswax. Biscuits, cereals and toffee come through, but it is not very eventful. The palate surprises with overripe pears, honey and ginger, this tastes better than I expected. Malty spiciness, apple compote and mildly bitter oak start to emerge, veering towards caramel, lime juice and green tea in the relatively short finish. If I had to define what an average malt is - well, here you go. RATING: 3.0/5.0 stars ≙ 80 pts → AVERAGE