Glencraig 30 Year (1974) Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare

Review by: zSolaris

Distillery: Glencraig / Glenburgie produced on Lomond stills.

Bottler: Duncan Taylor.

Region: Speyside.

Age: 30 year. Distilled in March of 1974 and bottled in October of 2004.

Cask Number: 2926.

ABV: 40.1%.

Price: Courtesy of /u/_asipper.

Color: 0.8, Old Gold.

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Nose: There’s something very familiar about this nose and I can’t quite place it. The nose is dominated by a really rich and very intense note of apple cider. It is like the most luxurious and perfectly ripened apples you can find were turned into a lovely and very fragrant cider. There’s also a bit of a dessert wine note, sauternes or ice wine comes to mind, along with a bit of vanilla and a tinge of chamomile.

Palate: It is a bit spicier and ethanol-y than I would expect anything after 30 years in a cask. It isn’t unpleasant or overly spice/ethanol driven, but just more so than expected and a bit disappointing. Candied ginger is the major note here, though on the sweeter side of where candied ginger could land. There are some apple notes but they’re more akin to what you’d find in an American public school cafeteria than the luxurious ones on the nose. There’s a botanical note of some sort that makes this really reminiscent of a nicer version of Bombay Sapphire with some rosemary.

Finish: Short. Very gin-esque and dry. There’s a mix of botanicals/aromatics/spices that I can’t really pick anything out of.

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Conclusion: On the long quest of filling out the “pokedex” of Scottish distilleries, Glencraig is one that doesn’t come around particularly often. It was another of those “distilleries within a distillery” that seemed to be more prevalent pre-Whisky Loch and was blending stock distilled on the grounds of Glenburgie distillery on a set of Lomond stills before ceasing production in 1981. So how was this one? The nose promised the absolute world with such richness and intensity. Unfortunately, the rest of the whisky struggles to follow along after that. Taste wise on the palate and finish, it is more gin-esque than I might have expected. Ultimately, tasty but perhaps not what you might hope it to be.

Rating: 81.

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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.