...where distraction is the main attraction.

Friday, September 16, 2022

Glen Elgin 10 year old 2007 SMWS 85.49

Though I've had no more than a handful of Glen Elgin single malts, I've yet to have a whisky from this Lossie distillery that I actually enjoy. Even the official 12 year old, whose review was pulled from this blog before posting because I thought the sample was ruined, is not something I'm interested in sipping again, even after three tries. I'm not one to hold grudges (a lie), so I hope this SMWS cask wins me over (a truth).


Distillery: Glen Elgin
Owner: Diageo
Region: Speyside (Lossie)
Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 10 years (25 Oct 2007 - 2018)
Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Cask#: 85.49
Outturn: 222 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 60.9%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

The nose is HOT, raw and slightly malty. Flower kiss candy, wet leaves and confectioner's sugar float in vodka. The hot, sweet and floral palate gradually allows minor notes of metal and oranges to escape. It finishes with sweet and tangy citrus, woody ash and ethanol.

DILUTED to ~46%, or 2 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Flowers join the flower kiss candy in the nose, followed by coconut, vanilla and barrel char. The palate begins with something floral and a lot of woody bitterness, followed by orange pixy stix and saline. Gets very sweet, like a sugar-doped rum. It finishes with barrel char, orange candy, and that sugared-up rum note.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

As you can guess, this Glen Elgin did not win me over, but that's due less to the spirit and more to the barrel itself. It's a capital "C" Craft whisky, hot AF yet oaky AF. This was a difficult sample to finish, which is a shame since the similarly aged SMWS Dailuaine from last week was quite good. An uneven start for the Glens this week.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ?
Rating - 74