Review by: The Muskox

…I’ve clearly misremembered other peoples’ reviews for this dram. For some reason I was expecting something straightforward and rather mellow. That’s not what this is.

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Distillery: Glen Garioch.

Bottler: Douglas Laing.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 52.6%, cask strength.

Age: 12 years old. Distilled in 10/2008. Bottled in 09/2021.

Cask type: Cask #DL14933, a single refill ex-bourbon barrel.

Price: $50 at K&L Wines in California.

Color: Pale gold. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

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Nose: Bizarrely gin-like – strong pine, juniper, and herbs. As that starts to subside, there’s a strong kombucha-like yeastiness and some cooked malt. Play-Doh! – it has that strange sweetness. Fuzzy (or fizzy?) peach, elderflower, mango, and crystallized ginger.

Palate: Full texture. Arrives herbal-sweet with green fruit and more of that juniper. More of a tropical character here, still tart but more floral. Passionfruit and banana, certainly. On the development comes yeast, sourdough, kombucha, black pepper, and dried mushrooms. Pear and mild vanilla. Butterscotch fudge and sweet maltiness. Slightly leathery.

Finish: Heavy and sweet. More herbs, zingy kombucha, yeast, and Play-Doh. Flower garden with wet soil. Peaches for days. Stevia plant (yes, I’ve tried it in plant form – it’s like you dumped sugar onto a green bell pepper).

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “u/b1uepenguin’s basement ‘booch brews”

Notes: I know u/b1penguin is a history guy, but I’d bet he has some kind of tasty science experiment going on in his kitchen. Anyways. This is a strange whisky, but still within the realm of expected weirdness for Glen Garioch. It’s got that same heavy malt character that I love in other bottlings, but a Ben-Nevis-like yeast/earth/tropical character. The nose is probably the fonkiest part. The palate and finish are slightly less weird, and there’s a great richness and heaviness that carries through the dram. I normally wouldn’t want a bottle of something this strange, but for the $50 that K&L is charging I think it’s a steal.

Final Score: 84.

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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.