Scotch Review #83: Glengoyne 15 Year

Distillery: Glengoyne

Region: Highland

ABV: 43%

Age: 15

Price: $50 (on sale from $80)

Color: 1.2, Chestnut/Oloroso Sherry. Natural Color but it is Chill Filtered

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Nose: (according to the wife) Oh nice and sweet. There’s a hint of blackberries but the main note here are overripe pears. There’s also a trace bit of flowers and brown sugar.

Palate: (according to the wife) Oh there’s a bunch of pineapple in this! (before promptly questioning how I can drink this “strong” of a drink)(according to me) Medium mouthfeel, slightly sweet. While it starts out of a nice mouthful of pineapple, that quickly gives way to honeyed lemons. There’s a slight bit of tartness from the lemon but it’s quickly followed by that thick sweetness that only comes from honey. Beyond that, there’s a nice bit of toasted malt barley, a hint of caramel, and a bit of leather.

Finish: Medium length. There’s a mixture of very earthy spices in here, cloves and oak tannins stand out a bit and provide somewhat of a drying effect. There’s some vanilla cream as well, which is nice.

Conclusion: This is the second Glengoyne I’ve have and so far, I’ve enjoyed both of them. The overripe pears in the nose make for a wonderful thing to smell. The pineapple and honeyed lemon in the palate is delicious. The earthy notes toward the end are a nice way to wrap this up as well. I wish there was a little more depth to the palate but I’m just nitpicking at that point. Would I buy another bottle? At $50, I would buy it all the time. At $80? Probably every now and again.

Scotch Whisky review #83, Highland Whisky Review #23, Whisky Network Review #108

Final Score: 83.

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.