September 30, 2014

Two little independent Glenglassaugh

There aren’t that many independent Glenglassaughs, probably and partly because the distillery’s been silent for so long. Today we’ll have one Russian and one German expression at similar strengths.

Glenglassaugh 20 yo 1986/2006 (46%, Bristol Spirits for The Collection of Whiskies, Russia)

Thanks to some Russian friends on Facebook, I could learn that this series was made for Kollektsia Vin, a chain of wine shops in Moscow that was later bought by supermarket company Azbuka Vkusa, in 2010. So the range doesn’t exist anymore. How this bottle ended up in a nice little Breton wine shop, I don’t know. Colour: straw. Nose: typical. There’s a slight feeling of warm paraffin at first nosing, maybe touches of printing ink, then more moss and grass, as well as green apples. All that is rather fresh, and gets maltier after one minute or two. Porridge. Mouth: it’s good, solid malt whisky, with an orangey freshness, apples, always this slight waxy feeling, grass and then a few fresh walnuts. There isn’t much happening, but the feeling is pleasant. Finish: of medium length, always on oranges, walnuts and light wax. Rather cider in the aftertaste, with a sourness. Comments: maybe not a malt I’ll remember forever, but it went down well. SGP:451 - 82 points.

Glenglassaugh 34 yo 1976/2010 (45.9%, Art of Whisky, Artworks, bourbon, cask #2380)

This little German bottler has already issued quite a handful of excellent whiskies, always fairly priced if I remember well. Colour: white wine. Nose: there is this paraffin again, but otherwise it’s a finer spirit than the 1986, with more fruits although I wouldn’t call this ‘fruity’. Apples, greengages… Also touches of lemon, then whiffs of sunflower oil, unless that would rather be grape pips oil. It’s a rather delicate spirit, but it’s got character. A light character… Mouth: ah yes, this is where the differences wrt the 1986 are most obvious. Bigger, fatter, fruitier again, with several sour fruits that give it an interesting side. Grapefruits, sour apples, rhubarb perhaps… Also some melissa water, not-too-ripe grapes… It’s rather unusual, getting greener and greener minute after minute. After ten minutes it’s almost grapefruit juice. Finish: quite long, lemony, a little earthy… This could be a margarita, in a way. Fun stuff. Comments: fun stuff indeed. Rather unorthodox, but fun. SGP:551 - 85 points.

Check the index of all Glenglassaugh I've tasted so far