3 Single Cask Glengoyne's

Glengoyne 16yo 1990-2006 56.6% OB cask#936

I feel there's a chance I've come across a bit harsh on Glengoyne in this vertical, but unfortunately it doesn't stop yet. What I just noticed is that there's some tasting notes on the label, another thing that have come in the last few years, and I don't mind some information as to what expect on the label, like information about the cask, or age, or "the gentle dram" as the say in Tamnavulin if I'm not mistaken. But on this one they're long and far too specific, so the descriptions might color the experience and not let the drinker himself have the opportunity to explore the whisky all on his own. On the 21yo it says "Nose:Sherry, brown sugar, toffee..." It's like if someone tells you, "hey, this whisky really tastes like banana", well of course you're gonna be on the lookout for banana and maybe oversee other stuff. Even interpret flavors that you'd usually recognize as strawberry or caramel, now as banana. That's maybe the reason that I do not read the legend as well as some others that I know. Again, I'm off tracks, back to the whisky!

Dark golden color, smells light, not as complex as the other two I've tried in this verical, really light, mineral salt and some malty notes. The taste is again very salty, brine, with a strong influence from the high abv. This one definitively need some water. Water brings out som bitter hers, mustard and honey notes, much sweetness on the finish, fruit sugar, molasses, wood nectar. Not the best of the bunch, but this one got more character and.. what do you call it.. drive than the other two.

The saltiness in this one almost reminds me of some Islay malts: 6.5


Glengoyne 21yo 1986-2008 52.2% OB cask#1391

Another single cask from Glengoyne, another sherry butt, but not nearly as dark as the Ewan's Choice, but a slightly higher abv. Bronze color, smells light, fresh, peppery, butt with a round and gentle touch, like being in a tea shop, a mix of mild spices but with some acidity and peppery notes as ground factors. This one needs a lot of time as well to develop, lots of raw greens coming through herbs and spices, cinnamon, coriander leaves, tea again, floral, pretty characteristic for a Glengoyne. The taste is peppery and sherried, again oloroso, sweet, slightly bitter, more sulphury. A small drop of water makes it very clean, with some straight sherry influence, but there's no Glengoyne characteristic in this one, not that its an easy one to find.
If tasted blind I'd surely known it what as sherry-matured, but what distillery? Could be anyones guess. This is one of the single cask expressions I feel could very well be thrown in a standard mix

Good, but not more than what you'd expect from a good 12yo: 6


Glengoyne 19yo 1986-2005 15.5% OB Ewan's Choice cask#441

I'm not sure what happens with me and Glengoyne, as I have never fancied it as more than a cask dependent spirit, needless to say, the 10yo and 17yo standards doesn't get high ratings in my book. Nevertheless I always seem to have some single casks of it in stock, which I believe could very well be due to availability and fair pricing. But to every lit street there's a dark alley, and I think that selling as much single casks as they do, they're sooner or later bound to start lacking what I'd like to call OLD supreme casks. Distilleries like Longmorn and Glenfarclas with their highly rated and usually extremely good older single casks, often with a discreet sale to IB's or annual releases, say the Family Casks, will always have much old stock to keep it going without downing the quality. Compare the prices of 30yo Glenfarclas to other distilleries 30yo's and you'll see what I mean. Another reason to be careful with over-releasing old stock in single casks is that there's less produce to put in the standard OB batches, say the aforementioned 10yo and 17yo, or even 21yo. The bright side of this gimmick for me (and you) is that exclusivity is expensive, and with much single caks out there they might not be as sought after by millionaire collectors and so on, so the prices be more right for the middle-of-the-road income consumer. Enough of that, let's try this one...

Really dark sherry, brown hazelnutty color, smells very light and fresh, some vanilla, much of what I sometimes get from some chilled amontillados. Really a beauty. The taste is all on supersweet oloroso, not that I mind, when drinking a dark sherried whisky, nothing is worse than if it's being overly bitter and resinous. It does need some time to develop into a more complex dram, given time it turns into some sort of salty butterscotch style, almost as mixing milk chocolate and meat stock cubes. Fantastic style, it's not one to rush but keep in mouth for at least 4-5 seconds to let it uncover more and more of the aroma. As I feel with bourbon-matured whiskies, and mostly all peated ones is the the initial taste of vanilla often disappears within a blink of an eye once in my mouth, and if peaty, the finish is pretty much just smoky and peaty. Here on the other hand, it just goes on and on and on, and never seem to end.

Amazing sherry expression: 8.5