...where distraction is the main attraction.

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Glenburgie 16 year old 1998 Chieftain's, cask 5006 (my bottle)

This is the Glenburgie that got me into Glenburgie. Like Monday's Fettercairn, I tried this whisky during the previous Chieftain's blog blast almost five years ago. And like the Fettercairn I had enjoyed many pours of it preceding its review. While the Fettercairn brings power and complexity, this Glenburgie is a mellow drinker, due to both its ABV and style. This pour is from the upper third of the bottle below.

Distillery: Glenburgie
Region: Speyside (Moray)
Owners: Pernod Ricard
Independent Bottler: Ian McLeod
Range: Chieftain's
Age: 16 years (November 1998 - October 2015)
Maturation: Hogshead
Cask #: 5006
Bottles: 230
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(from my bottle)

NEAT
The nose begins with barley, celery and loads of anise. It also shows some light grassiness and vegetable broth. Wasabi and Red Hots candy. The palate is malty malty malty. There's also kiwi juice and watermelon juice. Green grapes and mint leaves. Butterscotch and a slight mineral edge. Malt leads the finish as well, with little bits of watermelon, cantaloupe and a jalapeño bite.

I never add water to this, but what the hell.

DILUTED TO ~40%abv, or < 1 tsp of water per 30ml whisky
Hmmm. Funkier, muskier fruit appears in the nose, along with manuka honey. Sesame crunch and pickled ginger. The palate has become bitterer. Though there's more vanilla and butterscotch, the fruits hold strong: apricots, limes, sweet apples and roses (not a fruit). It finishes with roses, limes, a maraschino cherry and a hint of toasted oak.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Wow, maybe I should have been diluting this stuff the whole time. Though non-Western notes existed in the neat nose, at 40%abv it moves further East. I apologize for that sentence. Neat or diluted the palate is fruity, malty and concerningly easygoing. I try not to use the word "recommend" in this blog because this whisky shit is expensive, but if you can still find a bottle of this for $90 or less, it's not the worst thing to have.

Availability - Unsure. These could still be out there, somewhere.
Pricing - $90-$100 was its original price
Rating - 87