“Ground Control to Major
Tom”
Country: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Brand: Glentauchers 2005 (Bottler - Dewar Rattray)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 8 Years
ABV: 46%
Colour: Golden Sunlight (Natural Colour)
Nose: The Ex-Sherry cask can't quite obscure the fact that there's a relatively Young Whisky in the glass. Nevertheless, the Puncheon left its marks and I find Dried Fruits, Orange Marmalade, Pancakes with Golden Syrup, Toasted Nuts, Toasted Barley, German Butter Biscuits (Butterkekse), Vanilla, Caramel, Toffee, Cocoa, Plums, Flowery Perfume and hints of Yeast and Herbal Tea. On the Nose this Glentauchers is mostly Sweet. Given its age, the Alcohol is reasonably well integrated.
Taste: Slightly Thin delivery despite the adequate ABV. On the Palate, this Malt is Young and Bitter-Sweet with Toasted Barley, Toasted Nuts, Dried Fruit, Oak, Vanilla, Toffee, Treacle, Grapefruit Juice, Orange Marmalade, Pepper, Nutmeg Cinnamon and Dusty Road. Some Herbs and Chocolate as well as a light Metallic off-note. The Alcohol is more present here.
Finish: Bitter-Sweet at first. Slightly Bitter, Metallic and Dry towards the end. I find Sweet Barley, Raisins, Caramel, Toffee, Vanilla, Grapefruit Juice, light Oak, Dried Herbs, light Pepper, Cardamom, Mint, Licorice and Nutmeg and a touch of Bitter Chocolate.
I only had a very small sample so I just Nosed and Tasted it neat.
Rating: 81.5
Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 20- Finish: 20 - Overall: 20
General Remarks: The Single Cask Glentauchers I'm tasting today was distilled on the 16th of September 2005. It matured in a Sherry Puncheon with Cask # 900389 and was bottled by Indie Bottler Dewar Rattray for The Specialists' Choice (NL) on the 17th of September 2013. It was not Chill-Filtered before bottling. It might be hard to find but it was for sale at around 60 US Dollars last time I saw it.
The Glentauchers Distillery was founded in 1897 by James Buchanan and W.P. Lowrie. Today it is owned by Chivas (Pernod-Ricard). At this moment, almost all of the spirit is used in Blends like Chivas and, especially, Ballantine's. As far as I know, no Distillery Bottlings are available at the moment.
Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good
Conclusion: Although the Nose is not bad, this Glentauchers is not quite my thing. Despite the influence of the Sherry Cask, I find this Single Malt to be Young, Nervous and slightly Acid. On the Palate it lacks balance mainly because of the absence of more Fruity notes. I'm not too fond of the Bitterness as well and I could easily do without the light Metallic Off-Note. If you like the Aroma and Flavour profile you could give it a try but I have launched this Glentauchers into space. Maybe Major Tom can wrap it up in his Tin Can and sell it as a Spaceside Single Malt to some Aliens.
Jan van den Ende February 4, 2016
