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Friday, August 10, 2018

Glenlossie 22 year old 1992 van Wees The Ultimate, cask 3447

I paused a day between the two 1992 Glenlossies because I was concerned you were getting burned out on Glenlossie. Goodness knows, I was burned out after trying four in two days. Also, I only had four Glenlossie samples in total, so I had to skip a day. And I don't want to leave everyone without a whisky review on Friday.

Time for full disclosure. I tried four ex-bourbon cask Glenlossies this past weekend because I've been considering buying something from this distillery. The result? I'm not going to buy something from this distillery right now. Though today's 'Lossie was my favorite of the bunch, none of these showed signs of a thrilling spirit / distillery character / whathaveyou. There's a lot of competition in the Speyside area, hell, even on the distillery grounds. Mannochmore has been more my speed thus far.

Anyway, on with the winner of the week.


Distillery: Glenlossie
Ownership: Diageo
Independent Bottler: Signatory
Age: 22 years (November 18, 1992 - August 20, 2015)
Maturation: hogshead
Cask number: 3447
Outturn: 348 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Colored? No

NEAT
Like the other whiskies this week, today's Glenlossie's color is pale. Yet it also has a slight peach tint to it that sets it apart. The nose releases a burst of very ripe very musky melons. Then cherries, vanilla, toasted coconut and roasted marshmallows. Something between lemon custard and lemon-scented soap. And something between cotton and burlap. It has a zippy fruity palate. Peach and grapefruit. Amaretto and flowers. Saltines. A slight bitterness. Its simple finish holds peach pits, salt and flowers. Sweet and lightly tangy with a warming bitterness.

DILUTED TO 40%abv, or <1tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The fruits have abandoned the nose. Barley, honey mustard and toasted oak are what remains. The palate gets much simpler. Sweet, tangy and salty, with ginger and black pepper. The finish is very similar to the palate with, perhaps, some bran flakes and more oak.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
A perfectly acceptable aquaphobic whisky. Nothing is really wrong with it when neat. A good flourish in the nose. The palate proves friendly and shows little-to-no oak. It finishes moderately and agreeably. It fits perfectly in an amicable Speyside style (if that really exists). It would've been great if it could swim better, but it would be great if I could swim better too. It was nice to have two ounces of it and now I'm done. Thanks to MAO for the sample! He had a similar overall opinion of it. The whiskybase community is, as ever, more enthusiastic about it than we are.

Availability - Maybe on the European continent?
Pricing - €90ish
Rating - 85 (neat only)