Glengoyne 36yo 1972 (52,8%, Malts of Scotland 2009, cask #3195, 305 btl.)

Nose: beautiful sherry influence, which is not at all “in your face” but gentle and well integrated. Great hints of fruit candy (tangerines with more tropical fruits – guava, pineapple) and all sorts of jams. Some grapefruit. Notes of polished oak, vanilla and soft cinnamon. No signs of over-ageing or sulphury sherry whatsoever. Mouth: again very tropical and slightly candied. Prune jam. Tangerine. Passion fruit. Rich honey with more wood influence now and more spices (mostly cinnamon and cloves). With water, there’s some coconut. Getting slightly drier and tannic in the end. Finish: long, sweet, fruity and slightly nutty.

This Glengoyne has a lot to offer. The big fruitiness is terrific and the whole is remarkably fresh and lively after 36 years. Totally flawless. Not cheap though: around € 180.

Score: 90/100

It would have been interesting to have them all in a direct comparison, but for now it’s just this Daily Dram vs. the Malts of Scotland version.

Glengoyne 37 yo 1972 
(52%, Nectar of the Daily Drams 2010)

Nose: very fruity with tangerine, lemon, pineapple and hints of strawberries. A bit of mint. Very tropical and honeyed. Obviously in line with the Malts of Scotland version, but maybe a tiny bit fruitier, with a higher degree of vanilla. Less oaky spices as well. I prefer this Daily Dram version for having a wider array of flavours, but it’s close. Mouth: an oily attack, fruity with a pleasant acidity. The pineapple and honey are supported by more spices (ginger and cloves) and hints of resinous oak, but less so than in the Malts of Scotland release. Very nice integration. Water brings out soft coconut and some dried prunes. Slightly grassy aftertaste. Finish: long, spicy and drier.

An admirable Glengoyne with a delicious fruitiness and well balanced oak influence. I have a slight preference for this one over the 1972 Malts of Scotland version, although the differences are small. The lower price makes it even more interesting: around € 145. Recommended.

Score: 91/100

Glengoyne 36yo 1973 (55,1%, Malts of Scotland 2009, cask #677, 138 btl.)

Nose: very fragrant (slightly flowery). Charles McLean identified it as “ladies powder” and although I wouldn’t have come up with this myself, it’s actually well described. Unique. Again lots of fruit jams (tons of raspberries). Some warm, yellow apple with whiffs of cinnamon. Honeysuckle (lovely). Juicy and sugary, with red candy and vanilla. More malty notes than the 1972. Mouth: the same fruity sweetness, but fresher and slightly more sourish. Oily mouth-feel and very balanced. Vanilla again. Fruit cake and tangerine. Finish: sweet, on apples and lots of spices. Hints of pink grapefruit.

The 1972 and 1973 share quite a lot of qualities even though they’re matured in different cask types (the sherry influence was less typical and leaning towards the bourbon cask). Also, none of the oak types interfere. They enable the distillery character to shine through, instead of overpowering the spirit. The 1973 Glengoyne is probably a tad more vibrant, but in the end they’re equally great. Same price: around € 180.

Score: 91/100

The colour is slightly darker than the Glengoyne 1972 by The Nectar of the Daily Drams. Let’s put them side by side.

Glengoyne 37yo 1973 (50,4%, Malts of Scotland 2010, cask #678, 97 btl.)

Nose: I sometimes make a dessert with mango, passion fruit, cape gooseberries and banana, marinated overnight in a syrup with vanilla, red peppers and star anise. Malts of Scotland has stolen my recipe! It seems warmer, sweeter and slightly more punchy than the Daily Dram version. I find less tangerine and papaya but more vanilla. Honeysuckle and tinned pineapple. Liquid candy really and hardly any trace of wood (except for the spices). When compared directly, the Daily Dram fruits seem greener. I prefer the candied MoS version but that’s a personal choice of course. Mouth: starts with a big oaky kick, quite resinous and slightly bittersweet. Fortunately the fruit basket bursts open as soon as you swallow. Overall less spicy than the DD. Hints of ginger and coconut. Finish: long and spicy, returning to sweet vanilla.

Another great 1970’s Glengoyne, full of fruits and utterly tropical. I preferred the Daily Dram over the previous cask by Malts of Scotland (#677), but this one overtakes them both, if only by a small margin. They’re both rather excellent so I’m not sure a 20% higher price is justified: around € 180.

Score: 92/100

As you know, independent Glengoynes are very rare, so we should thank Malts of Scotland for their Glengoyne 1972, Glengoyne 1973 and this new Glengoyne 1998. It comes from a first-fill sherry hogshead and the colour is quite fabulous. Blacker than Black Bowmore?

Glengoyne 11yo 1998 (54,5%, Malts of Scotland 2009, sherry hogshead #1130, 292 btl.)

Long, slow legs announce a great spirit. Nose: a truly classic oloroso nose with sultanas, dried prunes and dried oranges. Slightly prickly but
spot on! Sweet black cherries, raspberry and hints of tobacco. Some vanilla toffee and lovely pine resin. Mouth: bold sherry again: prunes, honey, fruit cake. Hints of liquorice and dark chocolate. A very clean cask without rubber or sulphur. Finish: long, on raspberry jam and raisins. Fading out on cloves.

An excellent Glengoyne for “dark sherry” lovers, although you could argue that the sherry dominates the distillery character. This will be a hit anyway. Great price as well: € 60.

Score: 89/100

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

Glengoyne 11 yo 1998 (55,2%, Malts of Scotland 2010, cask 1132, 272 btl.)

Nose: totally different from the #1131 cask. Much more dirty, with notes of mushrooms and beef stock. Hints of soy sauce and moss. I’m afraid this isn’t free from sulphur. I know a lot of people like this kind of profile, and it seems to be filtered out after some breathing, so let’s move on. There are hints of walnuts but the red fruits are much more subdued here, although there are hints of candied fruit and water helps to bring out fragrant raspberry. Mouth: interesting and very much in line with the old Macallan 18’s. No sulphur, just beautiful chocolate, coffee, figs and dried orange skin. Raisins. A touch of menthol. Not as dry as its sister. Cloves and cinnamon. It also shows hints of dusty oak with light whiffs of smoke. Finish: long, drier now, and very chocolaty. Some spicy notes.

At the beginning of my tasting, I smelled both whiskies side-by-side and because of the sulphury notes, I never thought this #1132 cask would come close to #1131. But once you’ve tasted them, and once you add water, it becomes clear that the palate of this cask is really interesting and makes you forget about the nose. In the end they both have their qualities. Same price: around € 60.

Score: 86/100