Here’s the other “steady cracker” I was talking about when reviewing the Glen Grain Class by Malts of Scotland. It’s supposed to be a vatting of Glenrothes distilled in 1992 and matured in bourbon hogsheads, but remember the contents can change when batches are renewed.

Glen Speyside Class 18 yo
(50%, Malts of Scotland 2011, batch n°1)

Nose: fruity and honeyed. Baked apples sprinkled with cinnamon. Pear syrup. Apricot jam. Some great pastry notes. Demerara sugar. Heather and hay. Mouth: similarly sweet and fruity, very honeyed. Apple pie with raisins. Fructose. All sorts of fruit jams. Sugar coated nuts. Heather and light pepper in the end. Even a faint hint of smoke. Finish: sweet, softly spiced.

This Glen Speyside Class is much better than the Glen Grain Class in my opinion, and more typical for its type of whisky. Sweet, rounded, with decent complexity. Good to see it’s still possible to find a tasty 18yo single malt under € 50, bottled at 50%, uncoloured and un-chillfiltered. Around € 45.

Score: 84/100