Malts of Scotland is releasing Glengoyne casks at a high pace. So far, there have been two 1972 casks, a 1973 cask, a 1997 cask and two 1998 heavily sherried casks. All of this in just over six months, and remember independent Glengoyne bottlings are very rare (Whiskyfun reviewed 34 official Glengoynes and only 3 independent bottlings).

A few weeks ago, two new casks were bottled, both sister casks of the former Glengoyne 1998’s. Their colour is again quite remarkable.

Glengoyne 11 yo 1998 (54,8%, Malts of Scotland 2010, cask 1131, 295 btl.)

Nose: very much on dried apricots, tangerine liqueur and toffee. Some raspberry candy. Overripe cherries and plums. Nutty notes. Hints of coffee and mint. Very soft vanilla as well. Very big with the oloroso in the front row. Adding water makes it fresher and fruitier. Mouth: again some heavy sherry but perfectly palatable without water. Starts rather fresh and dry with plum cake, red fruits and dark chocolate. The dryness gets in overdrive after a while, with the kind of mouth-feel you get from eating walnut skins. A bit of water helps to make it rounder. Finish: dry and persistent, with notes of chocolate, oak, tangerine and spices.

You need to love heavy sherry influence to appreciate this, and even then some people will probably find this slightly overdone. I think it’s really good, especially if you add a bit of water. Around € 60.

Score: 88/100