Glentauchers is one of the more elusive Speyside distilleries. They produce lots of whisky, but most of it goes directly into blends and is never seen again. Enter the chaps at Gordon and Macphail, who take casks of single malt, mature them in their warehouses and then bottle them. The beauty of this it that, we the punters get chance to drink liquid that otherwise would either never afford, never get chance to drink, or most often both.
Price: £40 – £50
ABV: 43%
Appearance: Golden Drying Hay.
Aroma: Stewed apples, caramelised hazelnuts and and glaced ginger.
Taste: The initial flavour of this dram are rich brown sugar, which appears at the start of this dram and then underpins the whole of the palate of this dram. It is only in the foreground for a fleeting moment as it is quickly replaced by a warming, sweet gingery spice.
This gingery middle is fizzing, sweet and sticky. It tastes like a delicious Jamaican Ginger cake, although there is also a yeasty flavour, which tastes like freshly brewing beer.
The final notes are a remaining spice, a rounded nutty chocolatey flavour and a wide, sweet orangey tang.
Mouthfeel: Light, but spicy and warming.
Overall: Like an alcoholic whole nut bar.
Real Dram Factor: This was a surprisingly interesting dram. I fully expected to not be that excited by this dram, but actually it has interesting, original flavour notes that aren’t found in much of my current whisky collection. For me, this is another good example of the quality of dram that is produced by Gordon and MacPhail.
Source: Sample from Bottler
More Information: Gordon and MacPhail Website
Buy Online: Master of Malt: Glentauchers 1996 70cl – £49.83 or Amazon: Glentauchers 1996 70cl – £50.69