A trio from Glenturret


February 14, 2024

A trio from Glenturret for Valentine's ;-)

Glenturret, since its acquisition by the owners of Lalique, has regained the affection of enthusiasts, after decades that had been somewhat, let's say 'soapy'. My God, there have indeed been some pretty odd bottles in the past! That said, there's a new little problem arising from the coexistence of natural Glenturrets and peated Glenturrets, somewhat akin to what happened at Bunnahabhain. This requires us, especially for the independent Glenturrets like the ones we will be tasting today, to be vigilant and to monitor the presence, or absence, of the word 'peated' on the labels. Or of the term 'Ruadh Maor', here is an example…

Glenturret 2013/2023 'Ruad Maor' (57.5%, The National Choice, cask #158, 324 bottles)

Here then is a peated version of Glenturret, likely with an extra dose of soot and charcoal. Colour: amber. Nose: indeed, it's full of soot and ashes, slag, burnt pine wood, along with quite a bit of umami, mustard, leather, salty toothpaste, and even hints of grilled garlic here and there. We're clearly not on Islay. With water: let's say we're a bit more on Islay, but it's still very rustic, wild, with a meaty and sulphurous side to the distillate. Mutton suet. Mouth (neat): again this salty and mustardy aspect, with a sort of violence, let's say. Very herbaceous smoke and notes of burnt rubber. It's no joke when it's undiluted. With water: a lot of leather, salt, thyme oil and rosemary, mustard, vinegar... Finish: really very long in all dilutions. Harsh, mustardy, saline, powerful, brutal, smoky. Lots of smoked ham and ash, as well as bitter orange. Comments: it's not really here to entertain, it's a real fighter! Tough boy not for the faint-hearted.
SGP:467 - 81 points.

Glenturret 9 yo 2013/2022 (58%, The Cooper's Choice, bourbon cask, cask #59, 360 bottles)

Logic would suggest that this time again, we're dealing with something a little brutal... Colour: white wine. Nose: it's much fresher, tighter, more 'Caol Ila' if you catch my drift. Very pretty lemon, oyster shells, eucalyptus, lanolin, green apple liqueur… And perhaps, indeed, a very tiny hint of wasabi. So, it was the cask to blame in the previous one! With water: more wood extracts, camphor, essential oil of thyme... Mouth (neat): wait, it's still about mustard. Mustard, horseradish, and lemon juice. With water: purer again, lemony, still quite harsh and very peaty. Finish: very long, with much more pepper. The aftertaste is healthier again. Comments: we are, after all, more civilized here. Still a battle, but more like a duel with blunted foils.
SGP:567 - 85 points.

Glenturret 35 yo 1988/2023 (51.2%, Signatory Vintage, 35th Anniversary, bourbon hogshead, cask #537, 208 bottles)

With Angus, we've already tasted several very good Glenturrets distilled at the end of the 1980s and offered by Signatory. Colour: golden. Nose: oh, it's really quite special, not peaty this time (phew) and primarily based on fir honey, wax polish, beeswax, lanolin, a bit of turpentine, old yellow chartreuse, castor oil, and finally, mirabelle plums so ripe that they're on the verge of fermenting. All this is quite sublime, in fact. With a little water: hardly any change, but should one complain? Mouth (neat): fantastic, you could even make the decision to call the Anti-Maltoporn Brigade now. Honeys of all kinds, precious woods, gentle herbal teas and dried fruits, waxes, small citrus fruits... With water: once again, the water doesn't change much. There might be a bit more candied citrus, especially some very sublime bergamots. Finish: medium length, indeed on waxes, honeys and citrus. It's only at the very end that a tiny bit of woodiness appears, almost tiptoeing in. Comments: a very great old Glenturret on wax and honey which, in reality, hardly needs any water at all. This is what we call an anniversary bottling.
SGP:651 - 92 points.

Check the index of all Glenturret we've tasted so far