Review by: The Muskox

My local liquor monopoly got a whole bunch of Glengoyne in recently, and one of them finally showed up at that wonderful tasting bar!

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Distillery: Glengoyne.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 43%.

Age: 18 years.

Cask type: Mostly first-fill sherry casks.

Price: $170 CAD.

Color: Amber, with a nice coppery tone. Natural Color. Chill-filtered.

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Nose: Stong, sweet, green apple right up front. The sherry is present, but it’s shockingly fresh after 18 years. It’s more like white cherries and plums than dried fruit. Lots of tropical fruit too, like bananas, pineapple, and coconut. Some vanilla and caramel, as per usual. There’s a certain musty, dusty, earthy note, but it’s in the back. There’s definitely some old wood and leather. Sweet honey, with a really nice lavender note in there.

Palate: Medium viscosity, a little lighter than I would have liked. Oh man, the development on this one, though. It’s like it’s recounting it’s 18 years in your mouth over the course of like 7 seconds. Starts with that sweet apple, citrus, vanilla, and caramelized sugar, but then it dives straight into old wood, leather and tannins. It hovers there for a second, then gets even more tannic and herbal with overbrewed green tea, tobacco, grape skins, and moss.

Finish: Lasting. More musty oak and tobacco. Walnuts. A lingering tart citrus tingle. Herbs and flowers, with some nice sweet mint.

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Conclusion: Just a really delicious Highland whisky. Nothing fancy, nothing extra, just quality. The development on the palate is really awesome. My only gripe would be just a touch higher ABV would really help out the texture.

Final Score: 86.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.