Glengoyne 14 Years Heritage Gold Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland

Brand: Glengoyne Heritage Gold

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 14 Years

ABV:  40 %

Colour: Bright Gold 

Nose: Quite uneventful but not unpleasant with Nuts, Dried Fruits (Raisins and Apricots), Honey, Oak and Sawdust, Vanilla, Oloroso, Caramel, Buttered Toast, Pear and Sweet Barley. A hint of Apple Pie every once in a while!

Palate: The Medium-Sweet Flavour Profile of the Nose is confirmed with Dried Fruits, Oak, Cinnamon, Hazelnut, Honey, Licorice, Caramel and a sprinkle of Pepper and Nutmeg. 

Finish: Middle-Long with Oak, Cinnamon, Toffee and Lemon/Lime.

I added a bit of Water and Floral tones as well as extra Fruit, Honey and Malt appear on the Nose. On the Palate, the Heritage Gold becomes a bit too thin and Licorice and Spice start to dominate the Fruity tones. I prefer to sip it neat but the Nose certainly accepts a bit of Water.

Rating: 80 

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 19.5 - Overall: 20

General Remarks: The Glengoyne 14 Year Old Heritage Gold is a special 1 liter Travel Retail Edition, launched in 2008 to celebrate nearly 200 years of Glengoyne history and craftsmanship. It was matured in a mixture of Oak Casks by Lang Brothers of Dungoyne. This Batch was bottled by them on July 15, 2010. This expression is discontinued in the meantime. Today it's still available though outside the Duty Free system at around 55 US Dollars a bottle. Glengoyne (Gaelic for Valley of the Geese) dries all Malt with Hot Air. No Smoke and Peat to be found!

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: I've Seen That Face Before was a hit by Grace Jones in 1981. A song that took me by surprise at that time. Quite unique! The same surprise does not hit me with this Glengoyne expression. But I've Seen That Face Before though! A quite average Single Malt with a Lowland character despite its Highland nomination. An uncomplicated - and creamy entrance whisky for newbies although there is perhaps a bit too much Oak on the Palate and in the Finish. More accomplished whisky drinkers won't find the Glengoyne Heritage Gold overly exciting.

Jan van den Ende                                                               March 9, 2013

Mary Stuart Blended Scotch Whisky Review

*This is a picture of a bottle of Craigmhor Blended Whisky. The only available picture of the Craigmhor Mary Stuart Blend is the Group Picture you will find below. The Mary Stuart is the second bottle from the left.

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Mary Stuart 

Blended (Probably) by Craigmhor Whisky Ltd, Glasgow

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: NAS 

ABV: 43 %

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Clear Bourbon notes with Vanilla, Glue and American White Oak. But also Buttered Toast, Grain, Honey, Floral Tones, Malt, Citrus Peel, Chopped Walnuts, Straw, Pear, Banana and Melon. Not bad at all for a Blended Whisky. A bit in the style of The Glenlivet 12 French Oak.

Palate: Light and Pretty Standard with Oak, Vanilla, White Pepper, Aniseed, Honey, Licorice and some Fruity and Floral Notes. Hint of Plastic. I expected a lot more after the pleasant Nose.

Finish: Not too long and slightly boring with Malt, Buttered Toast, Oak, Aniseed, Honey, Licorice, some Sweet Fruit and White Pepper.

With a bit of water the Nose gets dominated by Buttered Toast, Oak and Vanilla. Palate and Finish are watered down while Licorice and Plastic are picking up. Better sip it neat.

Rating: 79 

Nose: 21 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 20

General Remarks: The whisky I'm tasting today is part of a box containing six Blended Scotch Whisky samples produced somewhere between 1955 and 1965. They are all named after English and Scottish royalties. This box-set is sold by the Dutch based Rare Whisky Site www.rarewhiskysite.com. Other than that I could not find one bit of information on the Mary Stuart Blended Whisky. I have no idea if full bottles are still available and, if so, at what price!

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: It is said that Blended Whisky used to be a lot better in the old days. This Mary Stuart certainly has a pleasant Nose when compared to the portrait below and many of today's Standard Blends. But on the Palate this is just as forgettable. I have tried Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stuart and honestly speaking We Are Not Amused! However, we still have King Edward I, King Edgar, Queen of Scotland and Queen Anne. So maybe we will find the hidden royal blended treasure of the Sixties yet. Stay tuned!

Jan van den Ende                                                                     March 7, 2013

Lagavulin 16 Years Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Islay

Brand: Lagavulin

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 16 Years

ABV:  43 %
Buying Advice: 😋  Totally positive. One of my favourite 2-Go-2 Malts.

Colour: Golden Amber (E-150 is added)

Nose: First impressions are lovely mellow Peat and a Meaty tone that reminds me of drizzling Bacon Fat when you are Char-grilling Pork. The Sea is not far away as well with Salt and Brine coming through along with some Oak. There are some Medicinal Notes as well and even a hint of Rubber but all in a good way. Sweet Barley, Cigar Ash, Soot, Tea, Brown Sugar, Honey, Herbs, Leather, Tobacco, Buttered Toast with Orange Marmalade and Vanilla complete the picture. It is not as wild and exciting as young Islay whiskies like Ardbeg 10 or Laphroaig 10, but it's smooth and inviting. You can certainly tell the extra years. Very nice!

Palate: The delivery is by far not as powerful as I had expected. I hesitate to say it but I found it a bit on the thin side. I believe this dram should have been bottled at 46%. The Lagavulin 16 is actually on the Bitter-Sweet side and a little bit Dusty. I get Peat, Leather, Smoked Fish, Oak, Tobacco, Tea, Malt, Hazelnuts, Caramel/Toffee, Vanilla, Iodine, Cigar Ashes, Smoke, White Pepper, Licorice, Cloves, light Menthol and hints of Dark Chocolate and Espresso. 

Finish: Middle-Long and slightly Bitter with Sweet Barley, Toast, Smoke, Dusty Peat, Tar, Pepper, Cloves, Leather, Tobacco, Caramel, Ashes, Iodine, Menthol and hints of Dark Chocolate and Strong Espresso.

The Lagavulin 16 Years does not improve with added Water although it accepts a few drops.

Rating: 88

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

General Remarks: Lagavulin (Gaelic for "The Hollow Where The Mill Is") is one of the oldest distillery sites in Scotland. Around 1816 a local farmer and distiller by the name of John Johnston founded the first legal distillery. Lagavulin is located on the rocky Southern Shore of the Isle of Islay, close to the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle and Port Ellen. Lagavulin receives the slowest distillation of all Islay malts and matures in old Oak Casks. It costs around 75 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: The Lagavulin 16 Years is a very pleasant Single Malt. On the Nose it is really mellow and laid back. The peat smoke is there but it's not dominant. It's more like a cloud that gently embraces the other flavour components. Very well done. The Palate is smooth and well-balanced,but also ever so slightly thin and dusty. It should have been bottled at 46% in my opinion. The Finish is rather short for an Islay Single Malt. But all in all it's a good Whisky of course and a smooth way of entering the Peaty World of Islay. It's certainly one of my 2-Go-2 Islay Malts and I would love to have a bottle around all the time.

PS: I first reviewed this Whisky in March 2013. Last year I bought another full bottle at the Duty Free Shop at Frankfurt Airport and decided to review it again today. I have adjusted the text as I'm better positioned now to describe the Aromas and Flavours. I slightly changed the rating components but the overall score remained the same.

Jan van den Ende                                        March 5, 2013 and March 20, 2017