Scotch Whisky Review #407: Glengoyne Wild Seahorse 11 Year Fresh Sherry Cask (2010)

Distillery: Glengoyne.

Region: Highland.

Age: 11 Year. Distilled on April 14th, 2010. Bottled in October of 2021.

ABV: 58.3% Cask Strength.

Cask Type: Fresh sherry butt.

Cask Number: 1181.

Price: $14/oz.

Color: 1.8, Old Oak. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

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Nose: Oh this is going to be a sherry bomb. The nose is absolutely dominated by sherry with some notes of raisins, craisins, and dried cherries as well.

Palate: Even at full strength, this is super easy drinking. The nose teased that it would be sherry forward and it absolutely delivers on the palate. There’s an old oak note along with those dried fruits from the nose again. Some toasted almond slices come in as well. With a splash of water, it starts to liven up a bit. A bit of heat comes through as well as some chocolate and caramel creams coming through to join the nuts and fruits. With a little more water, it cools down again. The chocolate and caramel cream notes are still very present. The dried fruit notes, however, are gone and replaced by a mix of berry and grape jams.

Finish: Medium to long in length. The mixed berry and grape jam is what lingers the longest. A touch of oak stays along with it.

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Conclusion: I haven’t had a sherry bomb nor a Glengoyne in a while now so I was definitely excited to jump into it. Just looking from the outside at the color set a certain level of expectation about what kind of whisky this would be and boy did it deliver. It’s a sherry bomb through and through and I loved every second of it. The nose all but smacks you around with a sherry cask and the palate just follows through with it very quickly. The transformation from drier notes of oak, nuts, and dried fruits to sweeter candy and jam notes with water was delightful. I’m left wanting more of it, though I’d probably drink through it much faster than I have any business doing.

Final Score: 85.

Note: I’ve made some changes to the scoring legend, the descriptions have been updated slightly to match my actual scoring a little better.

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Scotch Whisky Review #407, Highland Review #79, Whisky Network Review #561

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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 and I will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection if feasible.
• 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product and I’m likely wanting a bottle or two.
• 80-84: Quite good, pleasant overall though there is usually a few things that could be improved still.
• 75-79: Good, enjoyable to drink but ultimately flawed.
• 70-74: Alright, solid and 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.