Glenury Royal was founded in 1825, just one year after Glenlivet became the first licensed distillery in Scotland. Set south of Aberdeen neighboring distilleries like Nort Port Brechin, Glen Esk and Lochside have all gone down since. Only Fettercairn and Glen Garioch in near proximity have stayed alive. The distillery changed hands a number of times, but run pretty fluently in old fashion, except for wartime, until it was modernized back in 1965/66. Number of stills were doubled and own maltings shut down three years later. The distillery was mothballed in 1985 and any hope for the distillery to produce again was shattered in 1992 when the site was sold for property development. There haven't been many bottlings since the closure, but some have been released making Glenury Royal a sought after malt. Time to try some of them to see if its worth hunting down more. But beware, the prices might seem outrageous. All whiskies in this session was distilled pre 1980.
Glenury Royal 37yo 1973-2010 42.1% The Whisky Agency
This oldie comes from an ex-bourbon hogshead, I'll have another one from TWA after this one too. Low strength, but at this age one might expect that. The color is orange amber. It smells of peppery, oaky, cedar wood, bonfire, rubber, banana, butter, open up on honey and heather after a while. This one needs time. The taste is honey, dark coffee, malt syrup, banana liqueur, caramel, vanilla, very sweet and almost creamy, but then again a bit boring. Time to add some water. The taste is now more peppery, oaky, cedar wood, pistachio, peanut butter, again a bit boring. I'd say I prefer it neat, just a bit more punch then. One that's been lying around in a cask for just a bit too long if you ask me. The cask does most of the talking here, not much distillery character, but then again, I wouldn't be too familiar with that character anyway as I haven't tried too many Glenurys so far.
Mellow, sweet and oaky: 7
Glenury Royal 37yo 1973-2011 43% The Whisky Agency
Another one from an ex-bourbon hogshead, about same age and strength, and remember, even though most whiskies bottled at 43% are watered down to that strength, TWA always bottles at CS. The color is amber orange. It smells of honey, cigar smoke, orange liqueur, Campari bitter, Cointreau, ginger, plum wine, minty sweetness, green apples, honey, earl grey tea. The taste is bittersweet, dry leather, balsamic vinegar, cinnamon, dried paprika, sage. Peppery, dry licorice, hard boiled yolks, dark chocolate, dark coffee. The finish is bitter, cactus, fennel, mustard, raw onions.
Seems much younger than 37, and quite MOTR whisky in my opinion: 5
Glenury Royal 14yo 1978-1993 43% The Master of Malt cask#9776
If I'm correct I believe this whisky have been poured from full bottles into miniatures for Master of Malt, but by whom I'm not sure. I'll have the cask#9770 from same bottler at CS later in this session, so I could be wrong. The color is pale golden, borderline white wine. It smells of peppery, marzipan, mint liqueur, thyme, ground parsley, grassy, really a fresh and minty nose on this highlander, quite unexpected. Bitter one for sure. The taste is sweet, peppery, wool, like chewing cotton actually, rubbery, quite bizarre now. I don't however, believe water is the solution here. I'll rather let minutes go by. Now after heavy breathing it turns even more bitter, tonic water, grape soda, grapefruit juice. Now water? Yes! With added water it turns less awkward, now its just light, peppery and sweet, just like any other motr highlander. The nose promised great stuff, the palate failed to deliver on every scale.
Not a good representative for this lost distillery, I think: 2.5
Glenury Royal 23yo 1966-1990 53.8% Cadenhead's
A real oldie distilled back in 1966, surely not many of these still around from Glenury Royal. Some evaporation in this one, as one often find in these old miniatures from Cadenhead's. The color is Golden honey brown. It smells peppery, dry leather, buttery, chalk, thyme, licorice, cinnamon, tea shop, certainly from some old sherry oak, one that I could nose for hours, superb stuff. The taste is sweet, peppery, orange zest, tannins, dry red wine, pear spirit. Pretty good initially, but the finish is a bit eccentric and too concentrated for my taste. Time to add some water. Water shakes up a lot of cask sediments in this one, superb! Now the taste then gets more sweet, plum syrup, ginger, cranberry juice, blueberries, peppery, a bit harsh, but ending on some peaty and peppery notes which I've found in some older Ben Nevis before.
Great stuff, one of the best old Glenury I've tried, get one while you can: 8.5
Glenury Royal 23yo 1975-1998 57.2% Signatory Vintage cask#5238 btl.542/620
Though not being mothballed before 1985, there's hard to find Glenury Royal distilled in the early 80's. Most available today was distilled back in the 70's. Where did the 80's vintages all go? I'm sure some are obtainable if you have the time and money. Many of the Signatory bottlings bottled in the mid to late 90's were state of the art bang for your buck bottlings. Lets see how this goes down, literary so to speak. The color is light golden, which goes hazy right away as it hits the glass. It smells peppery, minty, butter, pistachio, peppery, thyme, leather, orange zest, earthy, lime juice, caipirinho, one of the best whiskies I've had nose-wise as it just keeps developing however long you have time to sit with it. The taste is sweet, vanilla, banana, peat, ginger, dried black pepper, licorice, hickory smoke, vinegar, barbecue sauce. This is quite amazing old style whisky, never to be rushed, but carefully enjoyed, then to be rediscovered, behind those peaty and peppery spirity notes, superb malt whisky! From a bourbon cask which really have helped Glenury Royal fulfill its potential here.
The quality of this dram, amazing!: 9
Glenury Royal 15yo 1978-1993 62.3% The Master of Malt cask#9770
One of only 120 miniatures, which to me means theres only been about two full bottles left in the cask, or rebottled to miniatures, whatever was the case. If we knew before then what we knew then, would we bottle these whiskies in 1993? I doubt it. But lets not be hasty, this whisky may not, because it's not been diluted, appear very different than the one from cask#9776. The color is white wine, certainly lighter than the #9776. It smells spirity, vanilla, vodka, clean spirit, but the cask is left without a chance on the nose here. The taste is bitter, licorice, drying, heather, very light, but mostly its spirity and sweet, lots of vanilla. Time to try this spirity lightweighter with water added. Now it becomes sweeter, more dry, peppery, hay, leather, ginger, more like the Glenury Royal character I've now, during this session somehow learned to know and like/love. As said, Glenury Royal is a whisky that needs time, patience and some work to get to terms with. Hard to enjoy? Perhaps, but when you're prepared to enjoy it, it's surely a treat.
This is both vanilla nectarish and dry spirity-ish, a jekyll and hyde whisky: 6.5
A memorial piece where part of the distillery once stood
Glenury Royal in its heydays.
Next tasting: Rosebank Distillery
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