Glen Garioch 1971 (43,9%, OB for The Whisky Exchange 2011, cask #2038, 194 btl.)

Nose: gentle but also very complex. First there’s a discreet and slightly tropical fruitiness (passion fruit, grapefruit) mixed with fresh eucalyptus, hay and a velvety, sooty smokiness and soft peat. Quite some leather, wax and mineral notes. Wet leaves. A smooth and worthy 1971. Mouth: not extremely punchy but quite boldly peated for a Glen Garioch (closer to Port Ellen than Brora for instance). Hints of mustard cress and bitter oranges, as well as some sourish oak juices that are a little too prominent maybe. Heather. Lapsang tea. Liquorice. A little austere although there are traces of sweeter citrus fruits. Finish: very long with plenty of sooty peat, liquorice and bitter oranges.

With its relatively heavy peat, waxy nose and a slightly austere and mustardy palate, this comes really close to the late 1970’s – early 1980’s Brora profile in my opinion. You have to like this style and spend a lot of money though. Available from TWE for around € 470.

Score: 91/100

Glen Garioch 19 yo 1991 (50,1%, Malts of Scotland 2010, cask #3175, 234 btl.)

Nose: white fruits at first (pear mostly, some apple), white candy and citrus, then after some breathing it becomes very lightly sooty. Hints of coconut. Showing a fragrant side at times. Marzipan. Nice to see this light smokiness but overall not very expressive and a little youngish for a 20 year-old. Mouth: apple juice poured in an ashtray? No, not an ashtray – it’s just lightly smoky. Dry, heathery smoke. Still high on sweet apple juice. A bit of lemons and oranges. Almond notes again. Light cocoa and spices. Finish: rather sweet and rounded. Almonds.

Certainly not a bad Glen Garioch, as it’s pleasant and well-made but just not very fascinating in my opinion. Around € 90.

Score: 82/100

Glen Garioch 32 yo 1971 (44,6%, OB, hogshead #2041 for Taiwan)

Nose: very rich. Almost impossible to describe in an orderly way, so let’s just give you a bunch of the aromas in a random order. Wet leaves, coal and soot (rather than plain peat), dusty books, dried fruits (quite delicate), roasted meat, fat, a gas station, some honey, incense, spearmint (great). Wonderfully farmy as well (wet fur, some fern). Tobacco. After half an hour, when I thought I had discovered everything, it suddenly became fruity with wonderful passion fruit syrup and berry candy. Oh my! Mouth: medium bodied. Not oaky but it does show some resinous notes. Hints of citrus and orange peel. Some nutmeg. Leather. Subtle peat and cocoa in the aftertaste. Finish: not too long, slightly drying with resin and light peat. Dark chocolate. Faint pepper.

Superb nose really. Also a great example of subtle old-style peat. A little lightweight on the palate maybe, but great.

Score: 93/100

Side note… I’ve read that some festivals don’t like the fact that you take home samples. While I understand this to a certain extent, I don’t see how you can possibly get to the bottom of such an incredible whisky in the environment of a festival.

19.44 is the 44th cask of Glen Garioch (distillery n°19) by SMWS.

Glen Garioch 20 yo 1988 ‘Old Grandad Whisky’ (53,4%, SMWS 2009, 19.44, 251 btl.)

Nose: sweet start with a winey touch. Rum / raisins. Dried apricots. Strawberries with white chocolate. Vanilla. The ‘old granddad’ should come from notes of tobacco and leather. The hints of pipe tobacco are certainly there but the leather is less detectable. Very nice overall, although there are also some savoury / herbal notes (cup-a-soup powder with whiffs of sweet mustard) that I found a bit distracting. Mouth: candied start, growing surprisingly floral. Lots of flowery notes, in the direction of lavender and geraniums (both of which I don’t like). A bit too close to perfumy notes for my taste. Lots of toffee. Again some tobacco. Finish: rather short with toffee and pine wood.

Quite an unusual dram. Strawberry notes are not very common and the combination with herbal notes is strange but interesting. I was a bit disappointed by the flowery profile on the palate. Around € 90.

Score: 81/100

Glen Garioch ‘Glaring Echo’ 18yo 1991
(46%, Daily Dram 2009)

Nose: starts on apple cider and lemon balm. Orange peel. Hints of eucalyptus and a few resinous notes. A nice waxiness as well. Very clean and elegant. I like it. Mouth: soft, velvety delivery but growing stronger over time. Lots of apples again with some liquorice. Quite peppery. Slightly spirity but that’s okay. Nice oak. Some spearmint. Finish: long – the pepper keeps going. Getting drier with a faint grassiness in the end.

A good Glen Garioch with a nice highland style. A rather modern product: absolutely no flaws but maybe not the most unique either. Around € 80.

Score: 85/100