Glenglassaugh Portsoy

 

 

 

49,1°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands 

Sherry, Bourbon and Port Casks

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2023

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Richly Peated

 

 

 

In Glenglassaugh's brand new regular range, developed by Rachel Barrie, this Portsoy is the only one to have been made from peated barley. The ppm level is not specified, but it is relatively light, around 20. The triple maturation is quite complex, in Sherry, Bourbon and Port casks.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is very coastal, even maritime, fishy, with salmon, anchovies, iodine, tide and sea spray. The smoke is grainy and vaporous, enhancing the character of the distillate. Yellow, exotic fruit, lychee, pineapple, but also animal fat, with a slight astringency. The palate is more accessible, more classic, with vanilla, lemon, papaya and passion fruit. Behind, peat that gives a nice dimension, and discreet spices. The finish is strong and long, with a dash of charcoal, but the focus is back on the sea, iodine, kelp and silt. The smoke comes through.

 

In Short, 

A great success. It's very maritime, intense, with peat that's very present but not overpowering. The exotic fruits soften the whole and make it enjoyable. On the other hand, I didn't smell any red fruit; the demonstrator assured me that the Port casks were Ruby Port, which is certainly true, but I smelt more like white Port. It can be found at a good price, in which case I'd highly recommend buying it, this is the quintessence of what can be done with this distillate in large-scale distribution.

Score : 87

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Dropkick Murphys - Rose Tatoo

Glenglassaugh 12 yo

 

 

 

45° 

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

Bourbon, Sherry and Red Wine Casks

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2023

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

The launch of this 12-year-old is a small event, there hasn't been a Glenglassaugh with an age statement in the Core Range since the 1980s. A symbol of rebirth and renewal, it is the work of Rachel Barrie, hired in 2017 by the group that owns the distillery, Brown-Foreman. Triple maturation for the occasion, to delve into the complexity.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Rather Oloroso, this Sherry. Bark, elastic, quince jam, candied apricots, raspberries, gooseberries, cranberries, cinnamon, heather in the background, lovely exotic woodiness. The palate is a bit light but very fruity, with plums of all colours, morello cherries, sultanas, figs and dates, tannins, spices with a certain breadth, nutmeg, cardamom, white pepper. The finish is grand and long, with caramel and charcoal, dead leaves, black earth and warm chestnuts. Cola. 

In Short, 

I didn't smell much of the red wine casks, but the Sherry was clearly present. Perfectly mastered as usual, fine work by Rachel Barrie, reminiscent of Benriach's 12 year old, but even fruitier. One small reservation: I felt that the distillery's hallmarks were a little lost in this complex maturation. It's a shame. However, this remains a very good bottling, at a very competitive price, and a purchase would be wise.

Score : 87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Current Joys - A Different Age

Glenglassaugh Sandend

 

 

 

50,5° 

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

Bourbon, Sherry and Manzanilla Casks 

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2023

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

To be launched in 2023, the new Glenglassaugh range is intended to mark a revival of the distillery. Its creator is Rachel Barrie, who was hired by Brown-Foreman in 2017 and has already completely overhauled the regular Benriach range. This Sandend, in the same vein as its predecessor Evolution, bears witness to the costal character of the distillery, and thanks to the Sherry and Manzanilla casks, a tropical sweetness can be found that should appeal. It appears to be non-chill-filtered and free of colourings, but it's still a NAS, I would have preferred an age count.

Let's Taste it : 

Beautiful lemon and vanilla sweetness, white plums and mirabelles, braised pineapple, papaya and guava, passion fruit, there's no shortage of citrus or exoticism. Almost crystalline barley sugar, ethereal. A beach at low tide, sea spray, damp sand, a pinch of salt. Beautiful balance. The palate is spicy, iodised, with notes of apple and lychee. Again, it's mellow, but complements well the sea breeze. The finish is grainy, quite long and just rightly explosive, with lemon zest, dry earth, gentle saltiness, gravel and limestone.

 

In Short, 

A successful marriage between the smoothness of the casks and the costal profile of the distillate. Well done, once again. This Sandend is typical of the distillery, more mature than the Evolution or the Revival, and a purchase would be entirely appropriate provided it can be found at a reasonable price.

Score : 87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Grandaddy - He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot

Glenglassaugh 2012 Rare Cask Release 9 yo c. 3417

 

 

 

60,1°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands 

Bourbon Barrel 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2022

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 20 ppm

 

 

 

In the vast collection of Rare Cask Releases, this Single Cask was aged in Bourbon casks for 9 years before being released in only 201 bottles exclusively for the French market. A slight peatiness is noticeable, up to around twenty ppm. The whisky was distilled in December 2012 and bottled in April 2022.

Let's Taste It : 

Slightly heavy, boggy peat, quite intense, but also creamy and lemony. Sand, mud, reeds and small fish gliding over your toes. It's nevertheless quite ethereal, almost honeyed. The fruits and vanilla are barely present. The palate is full-bodied, spicy and citrusy, with a hint of acidity that blends well with the peat and some iodine freshness. Plantains, sweet potatoes. Lovely, very long finish. Coal and earth. Damp character, seaside. Foam. Guérande salt.

 

In Short, 

It is very successful. The peat and Bourbon influence bring out the Glenglassaugh identity in a rather radical and unadorned way. It's maritime, muddy, reminiscent of a good Lagavulin, but with a more rural peat. The fruitiness is vague but present. All in all, it's a very pleasant product to drink, far too expensive for what it is.

Score : 87 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           INXS  Devil Inside

Glenglassaugh 2012 Rare Cask Release 9 yo c. 2922

 

 

 

58,3°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

Pedro Ximénez Puncheon

Original Bottling 

Limited Edtion 

Single Cask

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Within the extremely abundant Rare Cask Releases range, this one was hand-selected by Rachel Barrie herself (because she doesn't do it for others?) and reserved for the French market .Released in 680 copies, it is currently sold exclusively at the Comptoir Irlandais. Fully aged in a Pedro Ximénez Sherry cask, it isn't peated but the flavours still promise to be intense.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

A very wide, round, creamy nose. The fruits are obviously predominant, blueberries, blackberries, muscat grapes, rhubarb, apple, cinnamon, but in the background I still feel the Highlands character, slightly earthy and maritime. A pinch of salt. On the palate, the spices give a certain robustness, but the whole is ethereal and well-balanced, with a few hints of iodine. Otherwise, it's still very fruity, of course, and sweet, raspberry with custard cream, red fruit tart, shortcrust pastry, a hint of citrus fruits and brown sugar. Very strong, delicious, dry and earthy finish. Tannins.

 

In Short, 

A fine and successful ageing in Pedro Ximénez casks for connoisseurs. It gives this distillery a nice sweetness and a certain breadth, but it has to be said that the salty flavour that is its hallmark is somewhat kept away. It remains a fine product, a little expensive, even for a Single Cask, but a pleasure to drink.

Score : 87 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          FKJ & Maségo - Tadow

Glenglassaugh 2012 La Cuvée de Cobalt 6 yo

 

 

 

57°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands 

Pedro Ximénez Octave Cask 

Independent Bottling 

By Franck Debernardi 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2019

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

In 2008, the Glenglassaugh distillery reopened after a 22-year hiatus. Owned at the time by Russian investors anxious to get their money back, some casks were sold to private individuals to age in the distillery's cellars. Franck Debernardi is an enlightened whisky enthusiast and founder of the tasting group La Cave de Cobalt. A collector for decades, he seized the opportunity and buy his own 50-litre Octave dask. He decided to bottle it in 2019, after 6 years of maturation. 65 bottles were produced.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is woody, with a drizzle of apricots, and quince purée. Peach, an ounce of smoke. In the background, raisins, vanilla bean, leather and caramel. Very pleasant palate, on light fruits, apricot blends with white grapes and pear, it is very sweet. Quickly, the spices rise, quite strong, paprika, nutmeg, cumin. The finish is beautiful, long as it should be, charcoal, sandy earth, pepper. Woody hints at the end, with a slight freshness. Leaves of mint.

 

In Short,

A good Glenglassaugh if you ask me. Very influenced by wood and fruit compote. On the other hand, I did not feel the small iodine and salty note that I like from this distillery, except perhaps in the final. It remains a pleasant whisky to drink. You have to get in touch with Franck Debernardi in order to get some copies, he told me that he had about 15 left. 

Score : 88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           The Psychedelic Furs - Highwire Days

Glenglassaugh 2009 Rare Cask Release 10 yo c. 957

 

 

 

57,9°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

Oloroso Sherry Puncheon Cask

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask

Bottled in 2020

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Rachel Barrie herself has selected 10 casks, which she has included in the Coastal Casks collection. These 10 casks will each produce 10 expressions typical of the distillery, to celebrate its rebirth in 2008. Here we have a cask of Oloroso Sherry Puncheon (I don't know what Puncheon means), cask no. 957, of which 685 were bottled.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Nice mineral and limestone intensity to start with. It's almost fruity, with vanilla and apricot, then so earthy that it's rancid, gypsum, clay, gravel and sea salt. Then come the depth and mellowness of Oloroso, with red fruits blending delicately with minerality and iodine, cranberries, gooseberries and a touch of raspberry. Some charcoal and wood fragrances. The palate is very deep and intense, more quinces and walnuts than red fruits. The earthiness is still very powerful. Finally, the finish is robust, a slap in the face, with varnished wood, cinnamon and saffron. Very nice. Dusty at the end.

 

In Short, 

Really very good, especially the nose, full of character, and the Sherry which adds its touch without taking anything away. Not far from superb. The price is a bit high, but it's a Single Cask, so there's really nothing to complain about. This bottling reveals the distillery's enormous potential, and it would be great if they could get their act together and finally offer us something sufficiently aged and eloquent in the regular range.

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Sammy Davis Jr - Mr Bojangles

Glenglassaugh Octaves Peated Batch 2

 

 

 

44°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

Bourbon, Port and Oloroso Sherry Octaves Casks

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2018

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 20 ppm

 

 

 

This second edition of Peated Octaves is a highly processed distillate that uses a variety of casks, including Oloroso, Port and Bourbon. The Octaves casks are small, around 60 litres, which allows greater interaction between the wood and the liquid.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The Oloroso Sherry makes itself felt right from the first nose, with red fruits, raspberries, blackberries and a hint of blackcurrant. It's full-bodied and solid. In the background, the Bourbon elbows its way through, with a dash of vanilla and cereals, oats and hay. On the palate, it's a bit light at first, but then the strong spices kick in, paprika, cumin, ginger and chilli. Still red fruits, but more gooseberry. The finish is beautiful, long, woody, with resin and sandy earth. Marrons glacés.

 

In Short, 

I'd like to say that it's a complete success. It's a beautiful bottle, well balanced between fruits, spices and vanilla. The minerality typical of Glenglassaugh is a bit lacking, but the pleasure is there. The price, however, is a little exaggerated.

Score : 87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Cesaria Evora - Rotcha Scribida

Glenglassaugh Peated Port Wood Finish 2017

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

Toasted Virgin American Casks and Port Finish

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2017

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 20 ppm

In 2017, the Wood Finish series was launched, with four different bottlings, two peated and two unpeated. The Peated Port Wood Finish is aged in toasted American virgin oak casks, before spending two years in port casks. The version I tasted dates from 2017, with another launched in 2019.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The peat melts into the port and its red fruits, damsons, plums and blackcurrants. Dried banana, coconut, roasted pineapple. A few drops of caramel. Then the mineral note, gravel, limestone, gypsum. Beautiful balance. The palate is smooth and fruity, delicately smoky, with raspberry and wine lees. Light spices. The finish is quite long and peppery, with wood, charcoal, damp earth and juicy red fruits, blueberries, blackberries and gooseberries.

 

In Short, 

Wood Finish is a great success, with just the right amount of fruits and just the right amount of peat. The price is just right, so you can treat yourself if you're an enthusiast.

Score : 86

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Talisk - Farewell

Glenglassaugh Peated Virgin Oak Wood Finish

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

1st Fill American Bourbon Casks and Toasted Virgin American Oak Finish 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2017

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 20 ppm

In the Wood Finish series, here are the peaty ones. Here, the liquid has been finished in virgin casks for at least two years, giving it spicy, intense notes. While the other peated Wood Finish, Port Wood, was re-released in 2019, that's not the case for this one. The only edition dates back to 2017.

Let's Taste It : 

You can really feel the materiality of the wood, as if you could touch it. Digging into it, with the splinters sinking into your fingernails. The wood must have been toasted, and there's a hint of smoke. The whole is iodised and mineral, more like clay than gypsum or limestone. White fruits, but light, plum-like. A hint of honey. The palate is also very woody, varnished and smooth, but a bit bitter. Too simple. Spices, resin. Cumin, pepper. Nice aggressive finish, deep, earthy and charcoal. Quinces and figs, once again light.

 

In Short, 

It's a great experience, a bit radical, where you feel like you're getting inside the wood. However, and I've already had this feeling with virgin casks, it seems too smooth, too simple, too one-dimensional. It's intense but monochrome. So I'm not totally convinced, even though I enjoyed it.

Score : 86

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          John Mayer - Gravity

Glenglassaugh Evolution

 

 

 

50°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands 

George Dickel Tennessee Distillery 1st Fill American Oak Barrels

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2014

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

In 2012, the distillery launched a limited edition of 6,000 bottles in cask strength, called Evolution, aged for around three years in American casks from the George Dickel distillery in Tennessee. The formula proved popular, so the limited edition was incorporated into the regular range in 2014, with the first bottling taking place in August 2013. The liquid must be around five years old and the alcohol content is reduced to 50°. Since then, it has been one of the distillery's mainstays, alongside Revival and Torfa.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Iodine and Bourbon, vanilla bean, lemon pulp, grains and cereals. Mineral freshness, gypsum, limestone, smoked wheat, puffed rice, charcoal corn, varnished wood. The palate is initially spicy, with cumin, honeysuckle and ginger. A fine sandy beach at low tide. Then some citrus fruits. The finish is quite long, with wood, dry and fresh, and white fruits, pear, green apple, mirabelle plum. A very dry earth, baked by the sun, almost desert-like, a gentle salinity. Dried grapes.

 

In Short, 

I really enjoyed this one, even if I'm not generally a fan of bourbon cask maturation. Well, it has to be a Tennessee Whiskey, not a Bourbon, but it's pretty close. You're totally immersed in the character of this distillery, with a juice that's not too young for once. The price is reasonable, so it's well worth buying for enthusiasts.

Score : 85

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Jackson Browne - Running on Empty

Glenglassaugh Octaves Classic Batch 2

 

 

 

44°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

Ex-Bourbon, Pedro Ximenéz and Amontillado Sherry Octaves Casks

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2018

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

The Octaves casks are very small, with a capacity of around 65 litres, allowing greater interaction between the liquid and the wood. The distillery first experimented with these casks with a first batch released in 2016, which was well received. The second batch was released two years later. Like the first, there is a peated version and a classic, unpeated version. As if the use of peat wasn't traditional in Scotland. Neither the age nor the number of bottles produced is given.

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is sweet and vanilla-based, with grains and cereals. Then passion fruit, banana, papaya, leather and wood. Red fruits are in the background, and come through on the palate: raspberry, blueberry, one or two blackcurrant berries. Spices, paprika, cumin, ginger. Orange jam, dried apricots. Nice and warm. The finish is fairly long but not too strong, with heather earth, pine forest, a pinch of cinnamon, curry and a few coffee beans. Chocolate milk. Chicory.

In Short, 

It's not bad at all, very pleasant with a good combination of Bourbon and Sherry aromas. However, I am moderately enthusiastic. Glenglassaugh is a fine distillery with a beautiful mineral and coastal juice. Here, with these over-active casks, you don't feel it very much, which I think is a shame.

Score : 85

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                           Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Like a Rock

Glenglassaugh Pedro Ximenéz Wood Finish

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

Ex-Bourbon Casks and Pedro Ximenéz Sherry Finish

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2019

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Launched at the end of 2017, the Wood Finish range showcases whiskies aged in wooden casks of different origins and flavours, port, Pedro Ximenéz or virgin wood. This series is distilled exclusively from locally grown barley. Glenglassaugh Pedro Ximenéz Sherry Wood Finish was aged in American bourbon casks before being transferred into Pedro Ximenéz casks for up to two years. Following its success, a new similar edition was launched in early 2020 with casks bottled in 2019, under a slightly different name. This is the one I tasted.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Varnished wood, still slightly damp. Beautiful fullness of iodine, not at all hidden by small forest fruits, berries, blackberries, wild strawberries. Soft earth, a little damp. Brown sugar, melting butter, and a mineral, rocky side, with gypsum and limestone. Charcoal. On the palate, it's quite young, but the spices are there to enliven the taste buds. Paprika, saffron. Olive oil, red fruits, blackcurrants, gooseberries, figs and dates. The finish is correct, still spicy and woody. Splinters, slightly salty. Quite long.

 

In Short, 

In the end, the Sherry influence is slight and does not alter the distillery's profile in any way, giving a rather pleasant result. On the other hand, it doesn't offer the best value for money, which is a shame.

Score : 85

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                           Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Breakdown

Glenglassaugh Torfa

 

 

 

50°

Distillery : Glanglassaugh - Highlands

Bourbon Casks 

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2014

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 20 ppm 

Torfa means "peat" in Old Norse, the Scandinavian language used by the Vikings in the 14th century.

Let's Taste It : 

Grainy peat, not invasive or boring, but which enhances the fruits and the slightly iodised flavour. Fresh pear, juicy apple, some exotic fruits, papaya, pineapple, passion fruit. A hint of dried coconut. Intermittent floral fragrances. On the palate, relatively light but nevertheless pleasant, with vanilla and cane sugar. Discreet spices, nutmeg and cloves, a dash of limestone. A pleasant finish, reminiscent of tart tatin. Flambéed meringue and candied lemon.

 

In Short, 

It's a pleasant surprise. It's not revolutionary, but the combination of exotic fruits and peat without excess is interesting. However, the price is a bit high in my opinion. 

Score : 84

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Canned Heat - Boogie

Glenglassaugh Revival

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Glenglassaugh - Highlands

Red Wine and Ex-Bourbon Casks, Oloroso Sherry Finish

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2012

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

This is the first expression created after the reopening of the distillery, which had been closed for over twenty years.

Let's Taste It : 

Brown sugar melted in hot milk. Fern and heather. Ounce of iodised lemon. The malted barley is imposing, followed by a floral wave of violets, poppies and chrysanthemums. A hint of pear, not too juicy. Quite pleasant. On the palate, still floral, with a touch of apricot and caramel. Bark, damp sand. Light and a bit young, with expressive spices, cinnamon and pepper. Pleasant finish, but no more than that, nectarine and pipe tobacco. Grainy aftertaste. Wheat, barley, millet.

In Short, 

It's not bad, and the double maturation is quite elegant. But the distillate is still too young and the palate light, which is a shame.

Score : 82

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin