Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Glentauchers.
Bottler: Chorlton Whisky.
Region: Speyside, Scotland.
ABV: 61.1%. Cask strength,
Age: 14 years. Bottled in 2023.
Cask type: Refill sherry butt.
Price: £62 GBP for 700mL.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 8 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.
Nose: massive cheap chocolate, cereals, nutmeg, earth, black pepper, figs, banana bread, graham crackers, vanilla.
Palate: medium body ~ red fruit jams, malt, forest floor, chalk, oak tannins, orange marmalade.
Finish: medium-short ~ some heat and pepper, minerals on the tail end, more orange marmalade.
Thoughts: I haven’t had a ton of Glentauchers before, and this is my first whisky from Chorlton. The indie bottler seems to get attention and praise for their releases, but they’re hard to get in the US because at the time of writing this review they don’t appear to be imported this side of the Atlantic. This teenage Glentauchers has a really nice sweet-bitter balance throughout, but I know the distillery’s spirit has a reputation for super-estery fruitiness, and that appears to be missing. Though it was matured in a refill sherry cask, that cask is really driving the conversation throughout. For north of 60% ABV, it was surprisingly resistant to change from adding water (even for taking the edge off the heat), so I mostly drank it neat. The orange marmalade note as the fill level dropped was a welcome addition, I’m not sure if I’ve found a note like that in whisky before. Overall, it’s yummy and has plenty to like and hold my interest, but is just missing a little something to go to the next level.
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.
Malt Runners 