Glen Garioch 18 Year (2003) SMWS 19.68 “Spoil yourself rotten!”

Review by: The Muskox

This is review 1/6 of the SMWS’s December 2023 outturn, which I tasted alongside my man rye_am_legend at the venerable Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, D.C. We tried these whiskies blind, so all my notes and my score are pre-reveal. Apologies for briefer notes than usual – we tried quite a pile of whiskies that evening!

Distillery: Glen Garioch.

Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 59.9%. Cask strength.

Age: 18 years. Distilled March 17th 2003. Bottled in 2023.

Cask type: First-fill bourbon barrel.

Price: N/A, tasting.

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Rich and spicy. Gingerbread, browned butter, and star anise, baked apples and cherry turnover. Slightly dusty, some tobacco, and a bit of a greenness, almost a hand-cream note.

Palate: Medium-thick texture, medium heat. Arrives sweet and spicy with fragrant citron, raisins, tangerine, demerara, and lots of browned butter. Very fragrant Earl Grey tea on the development, with malt, spice, and slight earth.

Finish: Medium, slightly short. Baking spices, hay, more tea, malt, and apples.

Possible SMWS bottling name: “Picard’s space-cellar”

Conclusion: A warming late-autumn whisky, filled with nostalgic spices and cooling-on-the-windowsill baked delights. The tea and earthy notes give this whisky a bit more of a unique character than your typical bourbon-cask Highlander.

We were given five options for which distillery this whisky could be – Royal Brackla, Glen Garioch, Linkwood, Glentauchers, and Glen Grant. I thought the whisky was too robust to be any of the last three, and the earthy character here led me to correctly guess this was a Glen Garioch. Hooray!

Final Score: 84.

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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