Glossy Glenlossies, part four and last


April 17, 2024

Glossy Glenlossies, part four and last

We'll try to get through what we still have in stock…

Glenlossie 10 yo 2010/2020 (54.3%, James Eadie, recharred hogshead, cask #2479, 343 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: fresh, with hints of hay, freshly cut grass, apple, and lemon. Not too much vanilla, but a charming earthy aspect. With water: Italian lemon biscuits, the name of which escapes me. A touch of sweet woodruff, which I adore. Mouth (neat): a nice lemony zing and green apple. Lemon brioche, again with a very pleasant earthy side. Pear as well. With water: simply put. The sweet woodruff makes a comeback. Finish: medium length, balanced flavours and a lovely lemony freshness. Comments: youthful and completely without fault, especially if you love lemon as much as I do.
SGP:651 - 85 points.

Glenlossie 11 yo 2008/2019 (59.6%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #1358, 301 bottles)

This too, should be without fault. Colour: white wine. Nose: very interesting to compare with the rechar version, here there's less vanilla, but more white flowers, roses, and peppermint. It's very elegant, one could almost dab a few drops behind their ears. Also, notes of Golden Grahams and Fruit Loops – pick your favourite brand. With water: fresh fruits, apples, peaches… Mouth (neat): fruitier and decidedly sweeter than the 2010 (icing sugar), then much more herbaceous and peppery as a second impression. With water: our beloved peaches make a comeback. Barley syrup, apple juice. Finish: quite long, with a very nice balance between garden fruits and all things gently malted. Comments: all these young casks are excellent, nothing to criticise especially since the prices are always very fair. Truly loyal whiskies, in essence.
SGP:651 - 85 points.

Glenlossie 19 yo 1997/2017 (50.9%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead, cask #DL 12017, 140 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: completely different, with more vanilla, coconut, clementines and even pineapple and banana than in the younger ones. A bit of polish as well, where does that come from? With water: acacia honey and muesli with a bit of white chocolate and shortbread. That would make for a good breakfast. Mouth (neat): polish and paraffin again, then banana peel and citrus fruit skins. This one is really intriguing. With water: it shifts more towards citrus fruits, zest… Finish: medium length, quite mellow, with hints of ginger tonic. Comments: the same, it's honest, loyal, and merchant-ready as we say.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

We're not going to have only 85-pointers, are we?...

Glenlossie 22 yo 1997/2019 (51.2%, Maltbarn, bourbon cask, 161 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one is different, perhaps more complex, with a focus on waxes and mastic, then papayas, bananas, and vineyard peaches. A bit of praline cream and pistachio nougat. All of this works very, very well and doesn't really need water, but still, we have our procedures... With water: the fresh barley comes back to the fore. Mouth (neat): papaya juice with chamomile and apricots, all coated in beeswax. Does that speak to you? With water: a perfect, graceful fruitiness, without the slightest, well, let's say 'tawdry' aspect. I hope you'll forgive me. Finish: medium length, leaning more towards our local fruits, like apple for example. Spanish oranges coated with honey in the aftertaste. Comments: I believe we've reached a new level.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Glenlossie 23 yo 1992/2015 (51.7%, Sansibar, Samurai Series for Spirits Shop Selection, bourbon, 317 bottles)

It's good to taste this youngster before it reaches ten years from its bottling, isn't it? Colour: straw. Nose: here's a Glenlossie with a more lemony note, characterised by green apple, then evolving into barley sugar, tangerines and a few hints of Coca-Cola. My deepest apologies. With water: a lot of paraffin and plaster. Mouth (neat): very pretty fruitiness but also sodas again, Coca-Cola as well as 7up and other delights intended to bring our youth into line. Ginger tonic and a very faint taste of paper. With water: very nice citrus, abundant zest, quinine… Finish: quite long, even more on quinine, with a bit of sweet pepper and even milder paprika. Comments: a malt that's a bit more 'art house', if you catch my drift. I really like it.
SGP:561 - 86 points.

Another octave please… (never thought I'd ever write that)…

Glenlossie 19 yo 1992/2012 (51%, Feinkost Reiffercheid, Romantic Rhine Collection, sherry octave, cask #892622, 69 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: no heavy sherry at all, rather flints, clay, sunflower oil, acacia honey, mirabelle plums, quince eau-de-vie, beeswax… I have to say I am a little bit surprised here. Twelve years later, imagine! With water: one might say it's a little miracle. Chalk, vanilla, beeswax, yellow plums, apricots… Mouth (neat): frankly, I would have guessed a Balvenie of a similar age. Honey, well-withered quinces, mirabelles, a drop of olive oil... With water: edible flowers of all kinds and tangerine. Finish: medium length but with a very nice quinine and yellow fruits. Beeswax again in the aftertaste. Comments: just a simple little octave, really? Can we get a photo of the cask? Seriously, a very, very pretty little Glenlossie, not very 'sherry octave' though, it must be said.
SGP:551 - 88 points.

There's old and there is older…

Glenlossie 16 yo 1970 (43%, Sestante, Italy, 75cl, +/-1986)

Colour: full gold. Nose: yet again some Balvenie-ness, that is to say mirabelles, quinces and acacia honey (very roughly). There's also old Yquem, apricot, roasted hazelnuts, a bit of metal polish, some chamomile and some verbena, 'a meadow in springtime'… Well this is all rather splendid and in a higher league, definitely. Two minutes later, a toasted aspect emerges, warm praline, cakes fresh from the oven… Mouth: herbs, mints, absinthe, chartreuse, a bit of chalkiness, some sultanas, figs, various honeys… It's the complexity that's rather astounding here, glad we still had this one to taste. Then it continues with honeys of all kinds, sweet beers, caramels, fudges and toffees… Finish: not very long but more on Parma ham served with a bit of honey. Italian friends, please don't tell me this is sacrilege! Comments: just another era.
SGP:451 - 89 points.

Glenlossie-Glenlivet 24 yo 1993/2018 (54.4%, Cadenhead, warehouse tasting, hogshead)

Colour: gold. Nose: roasted nuts and pinewood, pipe tobacco, then cassata, muesli and strawberry yoghurt. With water: some cardboard touches, candle wax, sesame oil… This is truly an unusual Glenlossie. Perfect for fooling people in a blind tasting. Mouth (neat): very good, robust, quite coastal, but extremely herbaceous. It's like a slightly off-kilter Ben Nevis, to be honest. With water: very amusing, with notes of Bénédictine and herbal liqueurs from the former Eastern Bloc countries. Used to adore all of them, from Gdansk to Dubrovnik and even further south. Finish: medium length. Peach syrup, a bit of orgeat. The question always remains, 'to add water or not to add water?' In this particular case, the latter would have been the right choice. Comments: a very amusing and unusual Glenlossie. Do they serve their best casks during their 'warehouse tastings'?
SGP:551 - 84 points.

Glenlossie-Glenlivet 23 yo 1993/2017 (56.8%, Cadenhead, Single Cask, bourbon hogshead, 216 bottles)

Not too sure if this was for their 175th anniversary. Colour: gold. Nose: it's all rather about waxes. Some soft woods, encaustic, old books, apricots, mirabelles and quinces… With water: awesome, some yellow chartreuse and some bergamotte sweets (from Nancy in Lorraine, France). Mouth (neat): extremely good, yet simple, on the moisten-most heavily honeyed nougat there is. Honeycomb. With water: honestly, this was a brilliant cask. I suspect some bees had invaded it and colonised it. Finish: rather long, still wonderfully honeyed. Comments: either you like proper honey or you don't. If you don't, there's nothing we could do for you.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

I believe the next one will be our last Glenlossie until the year, say 2028.

Glenlossie 20 yo 1997/2017 (52.2%, Signatory Vintage for Acla da Fans, hogshead, cask #6773, 309 bottles)

Another Swiss bottling. Colour: gold. Nose: once again a pretty 'yellow one', with mirabelles, quince and honeys. Quite some vanilla too, this is very 'bourbon' indeed. With water: branches and stems, teas, chamomile, beeswax (bits)… Mouth (neat): excellent, on cane-juice rum, oranges, bergamots again, meadow honey and a little ginger/turmeric. With water: no further changes. Overripe apples? Finish: same, pear cake, mirabelle tarte, earl grey… Comments: awesome drop, typical 1st-grade filler, I would say.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Very well, within ten days we will have tasted 36 (thirty-six) Glenlossies. Not bad, is it? We haven't exactly touched the stars, but we've never haunted the malt dungeons either. Anyway, it seems that we can always rely on the independents...

(Thank you Diego (RIP my friend), Max, Tomislav and other friends for all these Glenlossies)

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