Glengoyne 10 Years Review

Glengoyne 10 Years

Glengoyne 10 Years is the flagship malt for the the Glengoyne distillery which today is considered to be a Highlands distillery, but once-upon-a-time was considered a Midlands distillery. Located, essentially, on the border between the highlands and lowlands outside of Glasgow it’s a distillery that’s had many owners since its 1833 founding but currently sits under Ian MacLeod Distillers along with Tamdhu.

I’ve long been a fan of Glengoyne, I think they put out some great whisky but I haven’t really reviewed much of what they distill and I think I need to change that… starting with this.

Glengoyne 10 Years Review: Details and Tasting Notes

Glengoyne 10 Years Color

In Glengoyne’s Words: Glengoyne 10 Years

“Fresh green apples, toffee and a hint of nuttiness. This is the taste of distilling slower than anyone else in Scotland, of barley we dry by air – never peat – and of hand-selected sherry casks crafted from European and American oak.”

Glengoyne 10 Years price, ABV, age and other details

Region: Highlands, Scotland

Distiller: Glengoyne
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry
Age: 10 Years
ABV: 43%

Price: $37

Glengoyne 10 Years Tasting Notes

EYE
Copper

NOSE
Complex -apple heavy- orchard fruit, honey, toffee, hay, dried apricots, nuts and a touch of nutmeg.

PALATE
Dried apples, dried apricots, vanilla Neco wafers, hay, cocoa, honey and a bit of minerality, nuts and spice.

FINISH
Medium -> Cocoa, hay, dried fruit and nuts.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Good, medium, soft and easy.

Glengoyne 10 Years Review – OVERALL

Glengoyne 10 Years Review

Soft and fun the Glengoyne 10 Years is a whisky that’s easy, approachable and is my new candidate for an “intro to Scotch” whisky. It’s far more interesting than many base malts out there and held it’s own when I did a Scotch 101 tasting for a group of young marketers. At the end of the event I found myself drawn to this and the Compass Box Oak Cross while I sat around and chatted about whisky into the evening.

There is a lot to enjoy with this whisky. The aroma is bold and malt forward with a touch of sherry sweetness; the palate its less sweet and more malt and dried fruit driven in a way that brings layers and balance to it as a whole. I gotta say, Glengoyne might be one of the unsung distilleries of this decade. Everytime I get one I’m taken aback by the sheer elegance that exudes from their whisky and this Glengoyne 10 Years is no exception.

SCORE: 86/100 (B)