Glen Elgin, let's just go on


September 14, 2023

Glen Elgin, let's just go on (2/4)

As we said…

Glen Elgin 10 yo 2008/2018 (59%, Mossburn, No.19, hogshead, batch #14.0518.19)

This should be tight, tense, malty. It's to be remembered that Glen Egin was electrified very late and that they had been using paraffin before. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: extreme grassy, branche-y, porridge-y style, extremely austere. With water: oats, porridge, concrete dust, green bananas. Mouth (neat): very powerful, almost burning, as if we were drinking it straight from the spirit safe (should we have the keys). Lemons and apple peel manage to make it through, though, but it wouldn't be reasonable not to add any water. With water: this time again, it gets sweeter and fruitier on the palate, this time towards absinth ans pastis, with a lot of aniseed and liquorice, fennel, raw green pears… Finish: long, still tight and sharp. Aquavit in the aftertaste. Comments: not the easiest one. I would have said Glendullan or something similar.
SGP:461 - 83 points.

Glen Elgin 8 yo (54.8%, Dram Mor, 1st fill bourbon finish, cask #301308, 244 bottles, 2022)

In the spirit of a proper old-school re-racking, I would say. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: you really feel the impact of the 1st fill barrel, as this one's rather easier, with touches of bananas, orange blossom, some celeriac and beets… That's nice and it does feel natural. The background remains on porridge, apples and citrus. With water: unusual whiffs of silk, old wardrobe, fur… And wool, which is more common in malt whisky, we agree. Mouth (neat): very good! Some kind of pastis aged in wood, with touches of sandalwood, cedar, liquorice wood and embrocations (warms your chest but that may just be all the ethanol, ha). With water: back to regular maltiness and the usual fruits, apples, citrus… Finish: long, rather grassier, with more fruit peel too, but always with this pastis in the aftertaste. Another one you could drink in Provence, to the sound of cicadas. Kss-kss-kss-kss-kss… Comments: I think this one's excellent. The short re-racking seems to have made wonders.
SGP:551 - 87 points.

Glen Elgin 13 yo 2008/2021 (55.8%, Fable Whisky, Chapter 7 Piper, hogshead, cask #805339, 139 bottles)

Colour: pale white wine. Nose: simple, natural, on branches, apples, sunflower oil and not that much porridge or ale. A little custard. With water: more porridge, chalk, wool, barley, grist… Mouth (neat): in the style of the house (Fable Whisky), with good, well-controlled oak impact, good citrus, white pepper, granny smith, tiny coconut balls… With water: just very good, gentler than others but that's the creamier wood. Cake, lemon pie, a touch of coconut, marzipan, gummy bears, cream eggs… Finish: medium, sweet. Limoncello, Oreo and marzipan. Comments: not that much 'Glen Elgin', perhaps, but technically totally perfect.
SGP:641 - 85 points.

Glen Elgin 10 yo 2011/2021 (57.4%, Whisky AGE, hogshead, cask #801804, 313 bottles)

Hey, we're in Taiwan! Colour: pale white wine. Nose: back to pure Glen-Elginness, with a lot of porridge and ale, apple peel, chalk, cut grass… It's not one to tell funny stories. With water: almost like a wonderful Pilsner. I'm reminded of Urquell but last time I've had one that was fifteen years ago. Mouth (neat): very tight, with some varnish, ultra-dry white wine (the driest fino sherry ever, shall we say) and the tartest oranges. And all that works extremely well, go figure. With water: some unusual notes of rapeseed oil, white melon, jujubes, some unusual spicy waxes, not too sure what they are… … Finish: long and very much on fruit peel and green tea. Comments: all these Glen Elgins are very similar, but the more you taste, the more nuances you find. It's a little exhausting, but also very fun.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Glen Elgin 8 yo 2014/2022 (58.2%, Murray McDavid, first fill Koval bourbon finish, cask #2010500, 142 bottles)

It's pretty interesting that several bottlers would be using, and mentioning, ex-Koval casks. Colour: white wine. Nose: paraffin, porridge, apple peel, sour cream, sweet cheese, spicy marzipan… There's something slightly acetic, with a drop of baby vomit. With water: more of all that, and no we won't mention gym soc… I'm afraid we just did. Now it's much nicer than you think. Nice soft-curry-like spices. Mouth (neat): much nicer on the palate. The spicy bourbon cask works very well, with a feeling of rye (haven't checked if there's a lot of rye in Koval's bourbons, though), then ripe bananas, mint and gingerbread. Touch of turmeric. With water: good variant, spicier and richer. Finish: rather long, sour-sweet. Comments: a rollercoaster, but it's an interesting, if somewhat challenging, variant. But what won't they think of next!
SGP:661 - 83 points.

Glen Elgin 14 yo 2008/2023 (54.1%, The Whisky Cellar, Pintail, red floc de Gascogne finish, cask #3010; 298 bottles)

Oh, floc de Gascogne, that's lovely! Next time, pousse-rapière? Floc de Gascogne, if you will, is Armagnac's pineau des Charentes, it's grape juice fortified with young armagnac. Floc too comes in white, rosé and red variants. Colour: apricot. Nose: earthy, with some oak spices, old barrels, tomato leaves, red berries, peonies, then some eucalyptus that noses a little weird in this context… With water: no clashes, some mustiness tough, and once again some of that stuff that babies regurgitate from time to time. Mouth (neat): it's very fine, with lovely touches of old wood, old spices, red berries and all that, but I think the original distillate has been buried. With water: the sweet richness of the floc would tend to dominate the whole. What's good is that the red grape juice they're using to make these pineau-like specialties is never deeply steeped or macerated, so they remain 'a little closer to the whites'. Finish: rather long, sweeter, easier. Comments: it's good but indeed, what won't they think of next!
SGP:641 - 81 points.

Port! But of course…

Glen Elgin 13 yo 2007/2021 (52%, Chapter 7, oloroso & ruby Port, cask #570885, 233 bottles)

Sherry AND Port? To what do we owe this incredible addition of rare Iberian flavours? Colour: deep gold. Nose: ha, the distillate seems to have kept the upper hand, as we're finding just as many porridgey aromas as in the 'natural' ones. And ale, concrete, chalk, paraffin, grass and leaves. The wines seem to rather act as cakes and jams, but they would never get in the way. Now what I'm also finding is some ripe red grapes, such as pinot noir. When you crush them between your fingers while you were wandering in the end of August throughout a Grand Cru... Okay, we're digressing. With water: some old pipe tobacco, all over the place, then some menthol and leaves. The leaves, that's the Port. Mouth (neat): it's the oloroso that's doing the job, but the combination works. It's got pretty smoky, coffeeish and chocolaty, with some cracked pepper lurking in the background. With water: surprisingly to my liking. Lovely peppers and strawberries, all we'd need to add is a little champagne to feel like we're in a 1960s romantic movie. Finish: rather long, unexpectedly balanced. Old bachelor's jam. Comments: I wouldn't have bet a kopeck on this horse.
SGP:561 - 85 points.

Glen Elgin 12 yo 2008/2020 'I offer you centuries of light' (56.5%, Whiskybroker for Whisky Facile, refill bourbon hogshead, cask #653, 180 bottles)

This seems to be about Circe and Ulysses; I just bloody hope that this potion won't turn me into a pig. Colour: white wine. Nose: perfect last one for today, ultra-pure, some totally raw and natural Glen Elgin, with chalk, soot, porridge, green apples, lemons, menthol, grist, and then a bit of custard tart and some awesome mustiness (precious old cellar, hessian, dunnage…) With water: high-end green teas, which are little worlds in themselves. That's awesome. Mouth (neat): notes of mocha, demerara sugar, heavy honey, roasted malt and nuts, pecans… It is completely different on the palate, much richer. With water: pur-fekt. Some roots, grasses, more roasted nuts, cakes, bean curd, mochi, green coffee… Finish: medium, spicier, wonderfully balanced. Perfect sweet ginger and a little marmalade, with even a tiny coastal/salty touch in the aftertaste (what was the previous fill?) Comments: I think this is my favourite this far, but we've only tried fifteen of them, if I do the math goodly (what?)
SGP:451 - 88 points.

Many more to come, stay tuned…

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