Glengoyne 10 Year

Review by: The Muskox

The older Glengoynes I’ve tried have been quite nice, so I was glad to see this up at the tasting bar for me to review.

Distillery: Glengoyne.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 43%.

Age: 10 years.

Cask type: European and American Oak sherry casks.

Price: $65 CAD.

Color: Pale gold. Natural Color. Chill-filtered.

Nose: Sweet and fruity. Lots of fresh apples, along with banana, crystallized ginger, thick honey, plum, and gooseberry. A hit of fresh oak, with some grass and fragrant flowers. There’s some custardy richness, along with caramel and some white chocolate. After a little while in the glass, I got a Tootsie Roll note, which I remember encountering in Glengoyne 15.

Palate: Light texture. Rich fruit on the arrival: plenty of apples, apricots, and various fruit pie fillings. Following is toffee, burnt sugar, candied flowers, and baking spices (nutmeg in particular). In the middle there’s moderate oak, vanilla, and some black pepper, then dark chocolate at the back.

Finish: Medium length. The dark chocolate sweetens up into chocolate ganache, with some strawberries, flowers, butter, and Honey Nut Cheerios.

Given the bottling strength and youth, this was really impressive. The fruity character and richness are nice, and the finish has good length to it. There are certainly indicators of youth: this isn’t a whisky trying to deceive you into thinking it’s older than it is. Would it be better without chill-filtration and a bottling strength of 48% like the older Glengoynes? Sure. It’s still a tasty and well-made whisky. Solid value at $65 CAD too.

Final Score: 78.

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.

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