Glen Garioch 1972

Review by: Raygun

Courtesy of an extremely generous friend (thanks /u/whiskynator), I was gifted a set of samples from one of the virtual masterclasses from the 2021 Whisky Show: Old and Rare run by The Whisky Exchange. A set of six drams selected by Angus MacRaild, Jonny McMillan, and Sukinder Singh. Tried Glen Garioch before, but never any from the previous century, never mind this old. I don’t believe the modern form is peated (further reading reveals they used heavily peated malt until 1995), so this will be a very different sort of beast. Rested about 20 minutes.

Distillery: Glen Garioch 

Bottler: Glen Garioch

Region/style: Highlands single malt Scotch

ABV: 43%

Age: Unknown. Distilled in 1972, but no idea when it was bottled. Bottled for Oddbins. 

Cask type: Unknown, but looks like sherry.

Color: 1.6 mahogany. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

Price: Way too much

Nose: Musty basement, old furniture, dark chocolate. Raisins left on a shelf for years. Hard to describe, other than smelling old.  

Palate: Very different from modern Garioch. Some farmy peat, sherry cask mustiness, cranberries, dried currants, dark chocolate. Demiglace. Tomato paste. Has the combination of sweet and meaty that makes me think of Moroccan sauces. 

Finish: Raisins, lamb shank, demiglace. Also reminds me of a wild boar ragu with chocolate that I had once. A little sweet, a little fruity, but also a kind of meatiness. 

Conclusion: Just wild. Don’t know how old this actually is, but certainly tastes old. Weird, musty, meaty, and mildly sweet. Such a different style. These old sherry casks in particular are so different than most modern ones, it’s hard even to compare. I’m actually not sure I’d want to drink stuff like this that often. Fortunately, it’s not like that’s an option. What a treat to try.

Buy a bottle? Slightly out of my range.

Final Score: 93

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
  • 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)

Published by Raygun

Unknown's avatar

I drank Scotch occasionally (mostly at family gatherings) for years, but started getting more interested after an introduction and tasting from a Scottish acquaintance. That led to buying my first bottle (Highland Park 12). Now 600+ spirits later, Scotch is still my first love, but I drink other whisky and dabble in brandy as well.

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