Review by: dustbunna

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Distillery: Glenturret.

Bottler: Distillery bottling.

Region: Highland.

ABV: 46%.

Age: 12 years. Bottled in 2020.

Cask type: Full maturation in European oak sherry casks.

Price: $60 USD.

Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Bottle open across approx. 13 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.

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Nose: old dirty sherry, walnuts, cotton candy, raspberries, fruit tea.

Palate: medium-full body ~ follows through from the nose, old books, forest floor, loses some power over time, wood tannins, wood polish.

Finish: medium length ~ more walnuts, rancio, unsweetened chocolate, old oiled wood, turns a little oakier and tannic on the tail end.

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Conclusion: This was my second bottle of Glenturret 12, because I burned through a bottle of it sharing widely with friends in just a month or two before I moved across the country. That was delicious, and I lauded the whisky widely, and immediately went out to pick up another one because I didn’t know if I’d find it where I was moving. Well, this second bottle I decided to drink sparingly– just to see what would happen over time. At the onset, it looks and tastes great: an old-school-style, well-balanced sherried whisky with lots of nuttiness, fruitiness, forested depth, and at a very reasonable price point (or at least it was in the Northeast, where I bought these.) Unfortunately, wood tannins really start to take over if it’s open too long, and by the time I was in the second half, it had lost its balance. It’s pretty rare for me to find a declining profile when a bottle is open for a longer period, so this surprised me, but it does happen on occasion. I guess this is a whisky I’d treat as relatively perishable were I to put another one in the cabinet.

Final Score: 78. (84 if enjoyed within a few months.)

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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.