Glengoyne 21yo (+/- 2014)
Glengoyne consistently churns out quality whisky, but is still a fairly underrated distillery. The fact that you can get their 21 year old expression for less than 90 euro is proof of that. But 90 euro is still not cheap for a bottle of whisky, so let’s see if I find the Glengoyne 21yo is worth its price.
Glengoyne 21yo (43%, OB)
Nose: Some light caramel and raspberry, with forest fruits, blue berries and plums. A very sweet first delivery. Then dried fruits, raisins and orange. It also has a hint of sourness, might be balsamic vinegar-esque.
Taste: Thick and spicy at first, mostly cloves and cinnamon. Also oranges, baked apples, caramel and milk chocolate. Would’ve liked the palate to be a bit richer in flavor than it actually is.
Finish: Tannins, toffee, and caramel. Fairly long in length.
Rating: 86
A good whisky, but I did expect a bit more. This is very nice and would serve great as an everyday drinking dram, but for that it is a bit too expensive. If you’re looking for a real sherry bomb, than there’s other cask strength stuff out there that’ll cost you less. This Glengoyne 21 is a bit more subtle, which can be a good thing, but in this case it lacks a bit of character.
Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.
I tried this one a while ago at Wullie’s restaurant, and I had a bottle of the previous release, of a couple of years ago. Funny you say this lacks a little character. I loved it for it’s big flavor and silky smoothness.
I haven’t tried the 25 year old yet but that seems to be even better (and a lot more expensive), but I really loved this one. Dessert dramming.
I was fortunate to try the 25yo a couple weeks ago during Whisky Weekend Twente. A generous pour also, surely around 4 or 5 cl. An absolutely brilliant dram, bit on the expensive side, but I’m tempted to say it’s worth it. Very different from the 21yo though. Where the 25 has more of an older style of sherry, the 21 is much, much lighter in comparison. I was almost convinced there were some bourbon-casks mixed in the 21yo.