Review by: The Muskox

Believe it or not, this is my very first Glendullan. As you probably know, Diageo’s Singleton brand is a different single malt depending on where you are in the world. Here in Canada, we, like the Europeans, get Dufftown, despite our proximity to the US, which gets Singleton of Glendullan. A couple years ago, this cognac-finished Glendullan was included in Diageo’s special releases. Let’s see if it’s any good.

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Distillery: Glendullan.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 54.6%, cask strength.

Age: 19 years old. Distilled in 2001. Bottled in 2021.

Cask type: Refill American Oak / Cognac Finish.

Color: Gold. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

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Nose: Toasty and sweet. Lots of fragrant oak spice, worn leather, and vanilla. Scented fruit notes of orange zest, roasted apples, raisins. Rich browned butter, puff pastry, light-roast coffee beans, and some cloves. Hints of earthiness – coconut husks and wet flagstones.

Palate: Medium texture. Arrives sweetly, with orange, honey, and melt. Lots of rich bittersweet oak as it develops, with some leather and shoe polish, lifting back to lots of sweetness. More butter, but maybe just melted instead of browned this time. Cappuccino foam, white chocolate, and candy apples.

Finish: Medium-length, with some lingering sweet stickiness. Deep toasty flavours return. Oak, coffee, toffee, walnut brittle, and dark brown sugar. Sweet-tart lemon and green apples. More honey.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Shoe-shine stand at the company Christmas party”

Notes: It took me a little while to come around to this whisky, but I think I like it a fair bit. It’s very oak-forward, but especially on the palate there’s some nice complexity and depth to some of the toastier notes. It’s a little rough around the edges with some of the flavours, as the sweetness and oak don’t always play nicely together. I certainly wouldn’t want to pay a lot for a bottle, but it’s pretty nice to sip on.

Final Score: 82.

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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.