Glen Garioch 1990 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland (Eastern)

Brand: Glen Garioch 1990 (KIW - Kintra Whisky)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 20 Years

ABV: 49.6 %

Colour: Pale White Wine. Almost a transparent light Green. It's the first time I see a whisky with this colour profile.

Nose: Malty, Floral, Fruity and Salty! Very Fresh for a 20 year old whisky. Give it some time when Nosing because there is some Vegetative Sulphur present at first. Malt, Buttered Toast, Tea, Heather and Apple Juice are my first impressions. A bit of Driftwood, Honey, Lemon-Pepper, Aniseed and a whiff of Smoke. The Alcohol is nicely integrated.

Palate: Malty and Lemony with Malt, Tea and Milk, Lemon-Pepper, Cloves, Wood and Aniseed. Slightly Bitter-Sweet. It's okay I guess but I would have expected a bit more complexity of this 20 Year Old Single Malt.

Finish: Middle Long, Malty and Mineral. Sweet at First and Dry towards the end with Sweet Barley, Apple, Lemon-Pepper, Wood and Cloves.

I added a bit of Water and Malt, Fruity and Floral Tones start to dominate the Nose even more. I get a bit more Smoke as well. Palate and Finish become quite Spicy and Lemony. You can experiment with a few drops.

Rating: 82.

Nose: 21- Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Glen Garioch Distillery is located in Aberdeenshire and was founded in 1797 by John and Alexander Manson. Nowadays it is owned by Morison Bowmore Distillers, part of the Japanese Suntory Group. The Glen Garioch we are tasting today was distilled in July 1990 and bottled at Cask Strength by Independent Bottler Kintra Whisky (Deventer, the Netherlands) in May 2011. It matured in a Bourbon Hogshead with Cask # 5873 out of which 96 bottles were reserved by Whiskybase from Rotterdam. The whisky is not chill-filtered and naturally coloured. It costs around 125 US Dollars. Availability is limited. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This Glen Garioch is quite Fresh and Clean for a 20 Year Old. Certainly not a very complex whisky. If you like a crisp Malty dram with Tea, Lemon-Pepper, Apples and Aniseed you might enjoy this Single Malt. I have to say it's not quite my cup of Tea and I would not consider this Glen Garioch as my daily dram. However, when I run out of Calvados I might consider drinking it from time to time between the courses of a nice dinner.   

Jan van den Ende                                                                     July 31, 2013