The Return of the Glentauchers Part 3


June 6, 2025

The Return of the Glentauchers (Part 3)

We sampled plenty of Glentauchers in May, then took a break for various reasons, so it's time to get back to it, as we've so many yet to try. Once again, we're going about it a bit randomly, just for the fun of it. Thank you for your understanding.

Glentauchers 23 yo 1997/2021 (53.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland, barrel, cask #401, 157 bottles)

Attention, we know these batches can be little marvels… Colour: straw. Nose: well, this is practically pure mandarin juice! Honestly, it’s rather bonkers. Granted, there are smaller elements in the background (cassata, candied fruits, white beer) but the mandarin reigns supreme. No problem, we’re happy to go along with it. With water: fruity beer, IPA with a heavily mandarin-forward hop. Mouth (neat): honey, nougat, and guess what? Bravo, you've nailed it, mandarin liqueur (Corsican, ideally). With water: a touch of vineyard peach, which makes for a pleasant change. Finish: long, fresh, all on citrus with a dash of honey. Comments: stunning aromatic purity. The trade-off is that it's not outrageously complex, but who cares, we’re smitten.
SGP:641 - 89 points.

Glentauchers 10 yo 2014/2025 (61.8%, Alambic Classique, 1st fill Bordeaux red wine barrel, cask #25011, 294 bottles)

I fear we’ll never again escape the clutches of red Bordeaux… That said, we do enjoy what Alambic Classique produces, and let’s be honest, the company name does sound rather French. Colour: gold (not rosé). Nose: oh yes, this leaves a mark, full throttle on blood orange and cherry clafoutis. With water: cherry tart, plain and simple. Mouth (neat): I do wonder whether this qualifies as an utterly bizarre concept, but one executed with disarming precision. At this stage we’ve left malt whisky far behind; we’re deep in marc de Bordeaux territory, all aged in ex-whisky casks. The worst part? It works, which is frankly a bit unsettling. Granted, one must enjoy blood oranges, but I most certainly do. With water: it’s worse, it’s even better. Now we’re fully on cherries. Finish: long, fruity, starring the current chart-toppers, blood oranges and cherries. Comments: I’m not entirely sure what to say. Perhaps the trick is simply to go all-in, and that might just be the secret here. But it was a cracking cask in any case, in my view very wet and very clean.
SGP:741 - 87 points.

Isn’t it something, I’m starting to scare myself… Quick, a barrel of bourbon…

Glentauchers 15 yo 2009/2025 (54.6%, Whisky Age, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #800647, 233 bottles)

Lovely label done by Taiwan’s Hong Fu-Tian. Let us support the true artists and refuse the slop! Colour: white wine. Nose: we’re back in similar territory to the first one, only this time it’s not mandarin-led but rather built around apple, small green pears, jujubes, rowan berries, and just a fresh baguette from the nearest French bakery. I’m quite sure they’ve got those in Taiwan too. With water: lemon and chalk come into play… Mouth (neat): pure barley eau-de-vie, rounded out with distillates of tiny berries, holly, rowan, service tree, and again that rather specific apple character à la Rochelt’s Gravenstein from Tyrol. With water: oh excellent, ultra-precise, apples and small berries accented with a bit of lime. It’s almost refreshing, which is exactly where the danger lies. Finish: fresh and fruity like a proper homemade lemonade. Comments: blimey, we’re flying high again!
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Glentauchers 2008/2024 (51.7%, Liquid Art, 10th Anniversary, sherry oak, 96 bottles)

Colour: white wine. So not exactly a sherry bomb, one presumes. Nose: fair enough—cassata, fresh butter, all sorts of candied fruits, and some proper fresh panettone. May I take this moment to urge our Italian friends to make top-tier panettone all year round, not just at Christmas. Thank you for your understanding. With water: freshly pressed orange juice. Mouth (neat): we’re back with orange blossom, Belgian mandarin liqueur (the liqueur is Belgian, not the mandarins), and fruitcake aplenty. With water: a little tighter, fresher, all on citrus with a few honeyed notes. Finish: long, fruity, and absolutely charming. Comments: citrus rules the world, and this has nothing to do with the Bilderberg club, the Rothschilds, Musk, the Illuminati, Putin, Taylor Swift or whoever else. Long live citrus!
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Right then, time to tease the red wine again… Spanish, this time.

Glentauchers 25 yo 1996/2022 (51.8%, The Whisky Cask Company, Torres Red Wine, cask #2007847, 197 bottles)

Attention, we have the utmost respect for Torres, and we do enjoy their Sangre de Toro when holidaying down that way—worth far more in your glass than its meagre 6 to 7 euros, frankly. Colour: partridge eye. Nose: red wine whisky, with mint, tomatoes, grenadine, fresh strawberries—a very modern profile, and I dare say on the rocks (and on holiday) it could work rather well. With water: sangria, plain and simple. Mouth (neat): vinous, but not bad at all. Bitter orange, black pepper, strawberries, and a tisane of linden and thyme. With water: not unpleasant… Finish: here’s where it starts to unravel a bit, far too red wine-forward for me. Strawberries in red wine. Comments: pure winesky. We’re fond of TWCC at WF, but this one’s flirting dangerously with full-blown winesky. The good news is it loves water. That said, I know there are die-hard fans of this style, and you know what? They’re absolutely right.
SGP:651 - 78 points.

Glentauchers 12 yo 2012/2024 ‘100 Proof Edition #18’ (57.1%, Signatory Vintage, 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt)

Colour: deep gold. Nose: walnut cake, a little Thai beef broth, hints of gun smoke, fig leaves, elastic bands, and a slab of chocolate. With water: walnut cake with a splash of marc from Burgundy—or Jura—or Bordeaux—or Champagne. Mouth (neat): of course it works, it’s a lovely sherry, balanced, still all on walnut cake, tobacco, chocolate, and Americano coffee (which many would claim isn’t real coffee at all) … With water: orange liqueur and ginger. Finish: fades ever so slightly. Comments: I adore this series, well done, bravo, spitzenklasse, but on the other hand the distillery character is just a bit buried. Then again, that’s always been the way with active sherry since the 1980s—one or the other, never both. No half measures.
SGP:561 - 84 points.

Glentauchers 18 yo 2002-2005/2023 (53%, Whisky Sponge, 1st fill sherry butt and 1st fill bourbon barrel, 250 bottles)

I think the artwork was stunning here. It is a multi-vintage expression, but those vintages are so close to each other that that shouldn’t change much. Now indeed the casks were different. Colour: pale gold. Nose: classic and austere, on apples, green pears, little berries and garden fruits past their prime, then melon and watermelon rinds. All very restrained. With water: full of tiny vegetal touches of all sorts, you rather get the impression you’ve wandered into an experimental greenhouse. Mouth (neat): this is very good, more on citrus and even green banana, otherwise your usual orchard fruits—apples and all that. A slight white grappa note. With water: marzipan comes in, and even some olives sweetened with honey. Ever tried that? Finish: medium length, more on herbs and teas, even a bit of hay. Comments: honestly, it’s quite experimental in terms of cask composition. But that’s probably where the charm lies in this baby that does leave you a little adrift—but with much pleasure.
SGP:551 - 88 points.

Go on then, there's still room for one last one…

Glentauchers 12 yo 2010/2023 (56.3%, Milroy’s, Soho Selection, 1st fill manzanilla hogshead finish, cask #11125, 251 bottles)

The shop on Greek St has gone a bit strange—or at least it had the last time I was there, back in April—though I suppose one can’t exactly rope in Charles Maclean to run a wee bar-bottle shop in central London. Anyway, the place may be a little pricey these days, but the brand’s whiskies remain jolly decent… Colour: gold. Nose: yes, very clean, on Canadian apple ice wine and sultanas. Apricot liqueur (Swiss, of course) and mirabelle liqueur (Lorraine, naturally). With water: shifts towards quince, which is excellent news. Mouth (neat): those mandarins from the first TSMOS reappear, but this one’s hotter, a touch rougher around the edges. With water: no worries, all’s well—it’s a nicely balanced fruitiness we’ve got here. Finish: fairly long though a little less precise. Overripe apples. Comments: the nose is a thousand times better than the palate. Still, a very good young Glentauchers.
SGP:541 - 83 points.

Come on, we’ve got a good ten minutes…

Glentauchers 8 yo 2009/2017 (52.5%, Asta Morris, Timeless & Tasty, Whisky & More, Hong Kong, 90 bottles)

You really do find the oddest things in the WF sample library, frogs included. Colour: full gold. Nose: quite jammy, on quince jelly, mirabelle jam, then a lovely glass of late-harvest Pinot Gris. Alsatian, naturally. With water: delightful—quince, chamomile, pistachio syrup… Mouth (neat): very surprising smoky side, perhaps from a previous occupant of the cask. At this point we’re lost; this doesn’t feel like one of our babies—what is this? With water: all panic stations—sharp edges, dissonance, smoke and burn. Finish: long but rubbery, smoky, tarry, and all layered over cider. Comments: I can’t make it work, so we’ll go with a provisional score and think again about this young Glentauchers. And about and the state of the world while we’re at it (but of course, S., but of course…)
SGP:563 - 80 points.

There will be many more soon

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