
June 11, 2025

A wee trio of peated Glenturrets

Is the market still so heavily focused on peated expressions, especially for mainland distilleries, even the coastal ones? And careful, if you mention Brora, that’s a bit unfair (ha). That said, we’ve already tasted some excellent peated Glenturrets, aka Ruadh Maor, aka Ruad Mhor…

Glenturret 10 yo ‘Peat Smoked 2024 release’ (48.4%, OB)

The 2020 bottling ‘Maiden Release’ at 50% vol. had left us somewhat underwhelmed (WF 81), one would imagine they've had the time to refine things since then. Colour: gold. Nose: a nose that feels slightly sour, with whiffs of smoked cider, a fair bit of leather, bay leaf, barbecue smoke, perhaps a hint of mashed turnip… What it isn’t is ‘coastal’, even if there are also touches of iodine tincture. Mouth: here we are leaning towards something coastal, albeit faintly mustardy and vinegary, possibly the influence of sherry casks. More tar, lemon juice, brine… That’s really not bad at all. Finish: rather long, salty and lemony, with a growing ashiness. A trace of horseradish in the aftertaste. Comments: I do think this marks an improvement over the 2020 and I particularly enjoy the finish.
SGP:456 - 82 points.

Ruadh Mhor 2011/2024 (52.7%, Malt Universe, China, Modern Time, refill hogshead, cask #25, 367 bottles)

Colour: pale white wine. Nose: once again, it’s the independents who are entrusted with offering the distillates in their most natural state, unembellished by excessive wood or wine influence. This is a stellar example, it’s precise, compact, fresh, showcasing peated barley, ashes, lemon juice, chalk and a good dose of mercurochrome. We really could be on Islay. With water: we’re inside an old kiln in full operation! Mouth (neat): perfect, acetic, fresh, verging on acidic, with superb ashes and plenty of green pepper, with a mezcal-like edge that we’re very fond of. Any closer to the raw distillate and you’d be chewing a bushel of fresh-smoked barley, ha. With water: an A. quality emerging, not far off the K. Cross on the island of I. (well done, that’s subtle, S.) Finish: long, fresh, perfect, of high definition. Comments: simply lo-ve-ly. Superb clarity of line.
SGP:557 - 88 points.

Ruadh Maor 2011/2024 ‘Jack the Ripper’ (55.6%, Malts of Scotland, sherry hogshead, cask #MoS 24016, 313 bottles)

We do get a sort of premonition… In any case, as someone who isn’t British, whenever I hear “Jack the Ripper” I think of Blue Öyster Cult. I know, that was Reaper, not Ripper, but back then, my English was even more rudimentary than it is now. Apologies for the digression… Colour: full gold. Nose: a slightly awkward union of peat and sherry at first, as so often happens, but things quickly settle down, with fruits emerging (quince), alongside honey and mint, then a little mustard, camphor and tobacco. It works! With water: amusingly, there’s now a faint whiff of horse. Mouth (neat): coherence is immediate on the palate, once again very camphory, very smoky, with a fairly thick texture, pink pepper, salt, heather honey, rather spicy Thai sauce… There’s a lot going on… With water: swims beautifully, becoming nearly exotic, somewhat in the spirit of a Caroni rum. I do mean in the spirit. Finish: long, rich, rather multidimensional. A little ginger and nutmeg from the cask. Comments: if there’s one thing this Glenturret is not, it’s boring. In short, we love it, just as we’d suspected.
SGP:667 - 88 points.

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