
November 11, 2019

Little Duos, today young Glen Elgin

Another great Distillate, kind of Lagavulin’s main partner on the mainland, as both were major components in White Horse.

Glen Elgin 2008/2019 (43%, Jean Boyer, Best Casks of Scotland, hogshead, 414 bottles)

A good and gentle French range for good people who wouldn’t want to have their heads being ripped off by cask strength whiskies. Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s really fresh, quite tart and grassy, with touches of chives over rhubarb and gooseberries, then a blend of porridge and green apple juice. Very nice, firm, and yeah, fresh. Mouth: it is a little eau-de-vie-ish at first, but that’s pleasant, while the whole remains extremely fresh. Green melons, apples, peaches, touches of malt drink (Ovaltine), and just a little vanilla. No fuss, no quibbling, just very good malt whisky. Finish: medium, with a little citrus this time. Excellent aftertaste on ripe apples and more malt. Comments: a very fine pretty old-school (say 1990s) independent bottling that does not entirely rely on wood. Let’s hear it for this excellent little malt whisky!
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Glen Elgin 13 yo 2006/2019 ‘Reserve Casks’ (48%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Parcel No.1)

Glen Elgin 13 yo 2006/2019 ‘Reserve Casks’ (48%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Parcel No.1)
A vatting of 4 casks, so probably a similar set-up, just at a higher strength. Colour: white wine. Nose: indeed, it is rather similar, but a little waxier and seemingly thicker, with perfect notes of broken branches, bark, then pretty much the same notes of gooseberries and rhubarb. Also notes of hazelnut oil, sunflower, marzipan… Mouth: very good indeed, pretty thick indeed, and rather grassy, branche-y, with more green melons and perhaps greengages. In the background, some grapefruits and always this grassy fatness. I may have mentioned chives before. Finish: rather long, with a rather sublime texture that would take long before it disappears. A feeling of having downed a large spoonful of olive oil. Comments: Glen Elgin’s going a bit incognito these days, but it deserves better than that, even if it’s rather more for malt lovers than for the general public, because of its fatness. Pure speculations (who said as always, who?)
SGP:461 - 86 points.

Check the index of all Glen Elgin we've tasted so far