Glen Garioch 1991 Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Highland (Eastern)

Brand: Glen Garioch 1991 Batch 38

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 19 Years

ABV: 54.7 %

Sample Provided By: Marlie, The Netherlands. Thanks!

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Give the Glen Garioch some time to open up. It's well worth waiting for. Quite clean and crisp with lots of Malt and Cereals (Biscuits/Buttered Toast), Straw, Honey, Heather, light Smoke, Oak, Vanilla, Pear Drops, Toffee, light Spices, Lemon Peel and a hint of Espresso. A True Highlander! If I was a poet I would describe it as taking a stroll on a Dusty Highland Country Road bordered by Golden Fields of Barley. But I'm not much of a poet I'm afraid. Though I think you got the picture!

Palate: Very nice indeed. A tasty combination of Cereals, Fruit (Pear and Orange), light Smoke, Vanilla, Oak, Honey, Pepper and lots of Christmas Spices like Cinnamon and Nutmeg.

Finish: Long and Dry with Cereals, Honey, Oak, Pear, Vanilla and Spices like Nutmeg, Pepper and Cinnamon.

With a bit of Water the Nose gets more Malt and Honey. Very smooth! On the Palate the Oak gets a tad bitter and Pepper and Nutmeg come to the Front. The Finish becomes rather Spicy as well. Better sip the Glen Garioch neat!

Rating: 87.5

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 22.5 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 22

Marlie's Bottle that produced the sample!

General Remarks: Glen Garioch is Scotland's most Easterly Distillery, located in the small town of Old Meldrum, close to Aberdeen. Glen Garioch was founded in 1797 by Thomas Simpson and is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. It was bought in 1994 by Morrison Bowmore, part of the Suntory Group from Japan. It was closed from 1995-1997 and now only produces non-peated whiskies. The Glen Garioch we are tasting today was distilled in 1991 before the take-over when the Distillery still produced lightly peated spirits. It matured in Ex-Bourbon Casks and was bottled at Cask Strength in 2010. It costs around 100 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Very Good

Conclusion: This is a very well crafted Single Malt. It's balanced and coherent from Nose to Finish. Nice Oak and completely integrated Alcohol. The only reason it doesn't score even higher is the fact that it's quite straightforward and not overly complicated. But who said that was always necessary! Well done Glen Garioch! Look forward to try out other expressions. And thanks for the sample Marlie. Great Choice!

Jan van den Ende                                                           October 11, 2013