Glengoyne Cask Strength

Classic Glengoyne. Right price. Tasted September 2024. Sweet, honey, not complex, but excellent. Taste in same category. Good long finish. Nothing to complain about. But is it special? Not really. February 2025 tasted. Peat noted in the mid and aftertaste. Big sherry influence. But not sherry bomb. Baked biscuits. Chocolate. Toffee. Lemony. Nuttiness. Good output from a good distillery.

Vanilla, caramel, apple and much more that I can't describe. Another very beautiful Glengoyne.

Batch: L 28 05 22 3 17:38 BB I must admit, first of all, that Glengoyne is, at the moment, one of my favorite distilleries; and that, despite this, I still find it quite hard to put into words what makes their whiskies so distinctive. Glengoyne doesn’t enjoy much fame. Although sometimes you’ll find the 21-year-old recommended to people looking for bold and old sherry bombs and who have some money to spare, the rest of its core range seems to go basically unnoticed. The few reviews by experienced enthusiasts seem to agree that it has nothing special: the distillate lacks personality, the influence of the sherry casks isn’t strong enough to place it in the sherry whisky category, and the presentation—usually at 43% ABV—leaves quite a lot to be desired. This is why I’m so glad I set out to try each distillery for myself. If I had let myself be guided by consensus, I would have never bought a bottle of the regular Glengoyne 12, which, after devoting enough time and attention to truly get familiar with it, became one of my favorite whiskies (so a whopping 9.4/10 in my rating system). Glengoyne runs long fermentations, and their distillation style is very slow with rather curious stills that have “boil bulbs,” all with the aim of promoting interaction between the copper and the vapor. The resulting liquid always matures—but only partially—in a combination of first-fill and refill sherry casks. And apparently, Glengoyne’s warehouses are technically located in the Lowlands, which is why fans often state that its profile is a mix of Highland and Lowland. In any case, all this results in OBs (official bottlings) that don’t really fit into the current landscape of Scotch, being a distillate with particularly subtle notes that rely only on the most delicate elements of sherry influence. Even as a fanboy of the distillery, I don’t mind admitting that the profile Glengoyne is pursuing is absurdly delicate, and that it simply can’t compete with basically any other distillery in terms of intensity. Their whisky has fallen behind: while contemporary whisky production slowly but steadily shifts toward bolder distillates, increasingly young and active casks (this “bourbonization” of Scotch that a few of us despise), and hyper-aggressive finishes, Glengoyne continues to produce a whisky so smooth, mellow, and sophisticated that it tastes like water in comparison. And this CS bottling is no exception: Nose: Warm and gentle, aromatically nutty, gently sherried, metallic and fruity. Gentle and sweet milk chocolate, buttery pastries, delicate toffee, hazelnut cream, Nutella, copper (wet coins), hay, honey, Greek yogurt, wet soil, mango, vanilla. Obvious alcohol. A touch of rolling tobacco, apple and cinnamon. Most of the notes stay in the background, fused into a general tonality that envelops everything but avoids direct focus, more like an atmospheric presence than a solid and evident profile. Taste: Smooth, fruity, savory, creamy, sweet. Immediately: pineapple, blueberry, coconut, vanilla, and peach mixed with a lot of chili. Little by little, the sweet, vanilla-coated fruit morphs into nuts, lightly toasted barley, lemon yogurt, spicy sherrywood, and raisins, eventually giving way to ginger, sweet and sour strawberries, faint buttery and honeyed croissants, prunes, black tea… and a touch of peat? The alcohol is absurdly well integrated, contrary to what the nose suggested. I know calling a whisky smooth is a meme at this point, but I think this one is distinctively smooth considering the ABV and the youth. Finish: Short, sweet, metallic, astringent, funky, lightly sherried, spicy and fruity. Lots of nutty and astringent oiliness. Then mango, bitter ginger, watered down espresso, aromatic cocoa, banana bread, gentle toffee and fudge, fresh apple, lemon, cinnamon. A particularly shallow finish, aside from the specific astringency it leaves behind, similar to that of shelled nuts like walnuts, it doesn’t add anything spectacular. Despite how it might sound, this is not a CS sherry bomb. It shows even less sherry influence than Arran The Bodega and, like that one, focuses more on offering a general flavor profile and pleasant sensations than on providing concrete tasting notes. A whisky with a rather young and sweet profile, undoubtedly impetuous and fresh, but with warm, nutty and funky notes (a mix of metal, butter pastries, barley, and yogurt), all under a layer of sherry influence that explores the most subtle nuances of this type of cask but still adds some spiciness. One of the really weak points of this bottle is the extreme subtlety of the notes. It is straight up weak. From experience, I’ve had to resign myself to the fact that this Glengoyne is a first dram whisky. If you drink it after a Glenfarclas 105, Benromach CS, or Tomatin CS, its profile is almost completely eclipsed, and the only things I can recognize are that special oily and astringent nuttiness and that it is particularly smooth. For once, I’m going to shamelessly borrow someone else’s conclusion (Glen Efze, a Whiskybase user), because he sums it up better than I ever could: "This is a modern whisky that aims to replace maturity with barrel management and alcohol strength. This usually doesn't work well—the whisky is young, has interesting notes of sherry cask, doesn't taste bad, but overall is too young and immature. The alcohol is too strong and the flavors are not woven together enough." The regular 12-year-old is much better, but that doesn’t mean this whisky isn’t, all in all, a very nice whisky.

Beautiful color, golden brown. subtle wood notes, sawdust. But also a slight sweetness, 1st fill Oloroso sherry cask. The alcohol seems well integrated he doesn't stand out. I smell some tea The start is fierce! Spicy and strong. More wood, less fruit. A 2nd sip becomes a little bitter, the slightly sweet nose is gone. After a while some vanilla it becomes milder and more aromatic again. He stays young and impetuous there is still a lot to discover...

New-make All this leaves an unpleasant impression that you want to wash away with some decent whisky. 17 19 17 17

n: nice orchard notes, fresh, sherry, fruits, solvent, apples, hint of cinnamon t: orchard, ripe fruit, red apples, sherry, wood, sweet, cinnamon a: sweet, orchard, fruit, old wood, nice cinnamon, apples, earthy (soil), sherry

Reminds me of a Balvenie Double Cask, that's how I would imagine it at cask strength. It has the vanilla, creaminess of the ex-bourbon casks and the dark fruits and spiciness of the sherry cask. The combination works very well. But quite expensive at 74 euros. 87/100.

Better than the NAS White Oak, while the CS is cheaper. complexity: 85 Intensity: 87

Glengoyne in Cask Strength made from a mixture of one third sherry casks, half refill casks and a small number of bourbon barrels. Ok, not a really transparent list, especially since the most important information is missing: age. After all, the whisky is not colored and not chill-filtered. glen-efze.de

Compared to N,P, it's a disappointing finish It ends with a whimper

Nose: Sherry, strawberry, rubber, coke Taste: Strawberry, honey, brown sugar Finish: Sherry, oak, dried berries

I am a fan of the Glengoyne brand, I adore their smooth, soft and Lowland style. In addition, I adore whisky in cask strength. Today I have a freshly opened bottle of this Batch009 and I must admit that I am excited about it. Despite the fact that up to one third of the entire volume of OLO sherry casks was used, this whisky is not a sherry monster. Today I just feel like such a not too complex, very smooth and quite strong whisky. Despite 59.6% ABV, this whisky is surprisingly easy to drink, the alcohol is miraculously well integrated, it can be drunk without adding water to my greatest pleasure. Despite the very friendly price, it is a very high-quality and fun drink. With very pronounced and dominant citrus tones, the whisky is very malty, dense but very smooth, distinct aromas of hay, vanilla, slightly woody but also, which is very surprising and fun that after a few minutes in the glass, distinct notes of butter popcorn appear! Indeed! Very good drink for a good price! Well done Glengoyne!!

For the price and quality delivered,this is a good value Malt. Flavourful sherry cask sweet berries, malty oakiness, honeycomb and slight salty sweet finish. Influences of coffee, pecan nuts, cereal biscuits, caramel, apricot and pear A well rounded malt however a bitter sweet finish of black pepper. Very alcohol forward and needed water. Really tasty and delicious.