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
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
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)
Glengoyne 10 Years Review
- Nose - 86
- Palate - 86
- Finish - 86
- Balance, Body & Feel - 86
Glengoyne 10 Years Review Summary
Glengoyne 10 Years is pretty good… pretty good indeed.
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