Glen Garioch 1991 (Liquid Sun)

It’s going to be a Belgian week on this blog. We’ve had two Thosop releases and now a Glen Garioch 1991 bottled by Liquid Sun for The Whiskyman. More interesting Belgian releases are coming up, stay tuned.

Glen Garioch 20 yo 1991 “The Whiskyman’s Dram” (52,6%, Liquid Sun 2012, refill hogshead, 177 btl.)

Nose: slightly rough take-off, lots of mineral notes and grasses… Aspirin. Quite some heather too, a few herbal notes (rosemary springs to mind). Ginger. A soft sooty veil as well. Shy fruit, although it displays a nice (secondary) citrus theme after a while, together with tiny hints of vanilla. Takes time.

Mouth: instantly more sweetness now, with a nice round orange note. Then peppercorns, ginger and heather again. Regains its sharpness over time, with medium peat, a herbal / earthy bitterness and salty liquorice roots towards the end.

Finish: long, quite bitter, gingery and salty.

I know people will disagree with me, but personally I don’t like the (too) austere, mineral kind of Brora or Port Ellen. On some levels this reminds me of those whiskies. Around € 100.

Score: 84/100