Tag: Scotch

Whisky and Words Number 63: Glenglassaugh Torfa

The Glenlassaugh Torfa, a light amber color

More Highlands today, but with a twist: peat. Oh, and another twist: 50% ABV. Not cask level but that’s still a hefty ABV. I’m expecting a mouthful of flavor.

Founded in 1875, Glenglassaugh was mothballed from 1986 to 2008, when they were purchased and then and refurbished by the Scaent Group, a holding company with over 25 companies in “various economic sectors.” Glenglassaugh was again purchased in 2013, this time by Benriach; that company was in turn (along with GlenDronach) gobbled up by Brown-Forman in 2016. Brown-Forman appear to be good stewards of their brands; the GlenDronach 12 was a solid performer and I expect the same here.

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Whisky and Words Number 62: GlenDronach 12

GlenDronach 12: all sherry, all the time.

After spending some time in Speyside, it’s back to the Highlands with GlenDronach. Their carton is quite informative and they stake their claim straight out: they use “the finest Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry casks from Spain” and declare not only is this spirit non-chill filtered but also has “natural cask-emparted colour.” That throws down a marker: no monkey business with colorants. Add the 43% abv and these choices point towards a ‘craft’ oriented production, reinforced with the notation that the spirit is “Distilled, matured and bottled by the proprietors.” (Some whiskies are matured off premises). They even give the address of the distiller, in Forgue on Huntley, Aberdeenshire, with no mention of a large corporation as ultimate owners.

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Whisky and Words Number 61: The Glenlivet 15

The Glenlivet 15. Nicely presented. Sorry for artificial light, so much smoke outside, no sun.

Welcome followers 50 & 51! Also, since I updated to a more mobile-friendly format, thanks all for a solid 2x increase in viewership in 2020. That is about the only part of 2020 that has not sucked (pandemic, massive worldwide recession, collapse of American democracy, you know, all that stuff…)

Here comes another Glenlivet, this time the 15, on a huge sale at my local Oregon bottle shop. At $65 it is a $12 discount to the usual tariff. I was going to wait a while to post again, but a combination of this compelling sale, and the fact that we are locked inside for a weekend due to the horrific fires in Oregon (and resulting smoke) and a little celebration for my 50th (and 51st) followers has resulted in a bonus mid-week update.

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Whisky and Words Number 60: The Glenlivet 21

Snazzy box…nice veneer.

Switching it up on you today! The last review was The Glenlivet 12, now we’re on to the Glenlivet 21.  As I mentioned in the previous post, with 14 stills, The Glenlivet produces 6 million bottles a year. They are consistent, I’ll give them that. But the 12 did not impress with depth or complexity. Today’s question: can they produce an outstanding whisky, given 9 more years?

The 21 is tagged ‘Archive’ and priced here in Oregon at $209 per bottle. For reference, our un-flashy benchmark Glenfarclas has a 21-year that retails for $145. I’m hoping there is some special mojo in the Glenlivet to make it worth that coin. Whiskyloot has a tidbit—the ‘Archive’ moniker is because there are whiskies up to 40 years in cask vatted with this expression. Now they have my attention. We had a dram from a 34-year cask at the Balvenie and that whisky had a thickness and depth that was transformational. Old whisky is different.

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