Glenury Royal could claim ‘royal’ in its name thanks to a friend of the founder, Captain Robert Barclay. The distillery was founded in 1825 and its license was cancelled in 1992. The site was sold for residential estate.

This 36 year old Glenury Royal was part of the Diageo Special Releases of 2005. Only 2100 bottles were made available at around € 600. It seems it has never been a great seller because recently they were offered in different shops for as low as € 200.

Glenury Royal 36 yo 1968 
(51,2%, OB 2005, 2100 btl.)

Nose: scented and floral with a significant amount of oak polish and sawdust. A bit of vanilla. Mango. Hints of parma violets and lavender, but not really perfumy. Some peaches and apple compote. Gets quite leathery and chalky. Some peaty / farmy notes but they seem to disappear as soon as you pinpoint them. A complex and rewarding note. Fresh, fruity with a distinct ‘oldness’ to it at the same time. Quite lovely. Mouth: very juicy and fat, building up much more peat now. Lots of spices from the oak, sawdust and again a leathery foundation. Hints of smoke and roasted nuts. Some bitterness and herbal notes towards the finish. Finish: long, slightly bitter, with toasted oak, nuts and varnish.

A very complex malt with a unique but slightly difficult character. It seems to continuously switch between fruity notes, herbal notes, freshness, harshness and many other things… Still available with a nice discount.

Score: 91/100