Glengoyne Cask Strength Batch 4

Sherry bombs are some of my favorite whiskies. The range of sweetness, tartness, and dark fruity notes with sherry cask has me always excited to try a new sherried scotch. This new Glengoyne Cask Strength is replacing the 12 year cask strength. As an NAS expression, we don’t really know the age of this whisky, but I would guess around the 8 to 12 year mark.

Glengoyne uses Golden Promise barley for their whisky and does not use peat at all in the process of production. We don’t officially know what casks went into the production of this Cask Strength Batch 4, but purportedly European oak sherry casks, American oak sherry casks, and refill casks were used and then bottled at a strength of 58.8% ABV.

A fun piece of trivia: Glengoyne distillery sits right on the border of the Highlands and Lowlands. The stills are located north of the Highland Boundary Fault (making it a Highlands?) yet the warehouses are located south of the fault (making it a Lowlands?). This debate as to whether Glengoyne is a Highlands or Lowlands is a hot topic among some connoisseurs.

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Glengoyne
Region: Highlands
ABV: 58.8% – Cask Strength
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley (Golden Promise)
Cask Type: European oak sherry casks, American oak sherry casks, and refill casks (suggested)
Age: NAS
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Burnished

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: Spiegelau Nosing Glass
Nose: Chocolate syrup, maple syrup, brown sugar, fresh fudge and some whip cream. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. A little bit of alcohol tickles the nostrils. Adding a few drops of water lessens the alcohol singe and accentuates more syrupy and chocolate cheesecake notes and brings complexity of espresso.
Palate: BAM! This beauty bursts to life when it hits your palate. Initial peppery punch. Rich toffee transitions to chocolate raspberry and dark fruits. Hints of dragon fruit, and acai. The high ABV is a kick in the mouth, but not overwhelming. A few drops of water doesn’t change the palate much. Lessens the initial punch
Finish: Notes of fig, dates, and sweets lingers. Syrup and Belgian waffles. Fresh cinnamon and allspice notes linger. Adding water brings out some dark chocolate covered espresso beans.
Overall: This might be one of my favorite Glengoyne expressions. The higher ABV than the 15, 18, and 21 year expressions combined with the dessert notes make this a delicious dram. I feel like this would pair well with a dark chocolate raspberry truffle.

Average Price: $65-80 USD