A trio of strange young Glenturrets


August 14, 2026

A trio of strange young Glenturrets

We shall taste them in ascending order of alcoholic strength. There has to be some order, right?

Glenturret 12 yo 2013/2025 (54.3%, Decadent Drams, re-charred hogshead, 291 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: peat, mint, even a little lavender, antiseptic, in short, this very smoky and medicinal little Glenturret certainly isn't going to make you ill. With water: touches of turnip and celeriac. In short, roots. Mouth (neat): peat again, but this time coupled with limoncello, with a slightly coaly side and… hum, it’s rather tequila-ish. With water: the lavender is back, together with pink and grey peppercorns, which, seriously, gives this baby a wee 1980s Bowmore side. FWP and stuff. Finish: once it's there, it simply won't leave you. Comments: to be fair, this is very good, but it isn't my favourite style of peat. It reminds me a little of some peated Loch Lomonds. Hurray, I've finally found a Decadent Drinks that I don't like very much!
SGP:465 – 79 points.

Glenturret 8 yo 2010/2019 (58.5%, The National Choice, refill hogshead, cask #183, 336 bottles)

Another peated one, it seems. Has the word ‘peated’ remained a magic word in malt whisky, in 2026? To be discussed over an organic herbal tea or a glass of kombucha… Colour: deep gold. Nose: the impact of the cask is rather strong, refill or no refill, while some medicinal peat comes storming into your nostrils. Burnt walnuts, herbes de Provence, especially thyme. Thyme is brilliant, but you can have too much of a good thing. With water: this is all right. Carrots and ginseng. Mouth (neat): it’s good, but on top of the lavender that was already present in the DD, this time there’s also violet liqueur and touches of shampoo. I swear. With water: better, but this new Fanta side is really massive too. Some eau de cologne. Finish: long, on pepper, lavender, violet and apple-scented shampoo. Comments: it rather feels as though we’ve travelled twenty years back in time. You may say that makes you younger, but this really isn’t my favourite style of peat. Bowmore-style FWP, get out of this glass!
SGP:565 - 77 points.

I think we’d be perfectly entitled to ask that all peated Glenturrets be labelled as Ruad Mor (whatever) rather than Glenturret, just to avoid any misunderstanding. Unless we’ve missed a mention somewhere, which is entirely possible. Right, let’s carry on with the third baby… And indeed…

Glenturret ‘Ruadh Maor’ 12 yo 2012/2025 (60.3%, Watashi Whisky, refill sherry octave, cask #1200003488)

These labels are so beautiful and funny! We are, of course, in Taiwan… Colour: gold. Nose: every bit as peaty as its predecessors, but more straightforward, direct, simple, no fuss. Caol Ila new-make. No, no Bowmore circa 1985. You may say that could come after adding water… With water: yeah, difficult to categorise, but do we even need to? Citrus eau-de-vie and a lavender-and-violet duo that’s virtually absent. H.u.r.r.a.y. Mouth (neat): we find the soapy side of the others again this time, the violet and the shampoo. Okay, violet shampoo, plus pink peppercorns and touches of glue. Come on, hang in there, water should be welcome on the palate… With water: wild raspberry eau-de-vie straight from the still and pink peppercorns. Finish: same. Some soap comes through again. Comments: octaves always scare us a little, but when they’re refill, things generally go better. Here’s a fairly good example, although it remains a little too tough for me. And ‘shampoo-y’.
SGP:565 - 78 points.

Well, that wasn’t the easiest of sessions, especially since we weren’t expecting quite so much peat (and shampoo). We've already tried some superior Ruadh Maor I believe. Next time, we’ll do everything we can to taste some regular ‘turret, promise. Oh, and you’ll notice that those blasted Decadent Drinks still managed to bag the highest score today.

Check the index of all Glenturret we've tasted