Glenkinchie 10 year | Whisky Lady

The Lowlands of Scotland are often over-looked, given it had only 2 single malt distilleries active in 2000 – Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie. Yet it was once known for malts with a gentle elegance, stunning drams like Rosebank and old grains like Cambus from discontinued distilleries… Today we have many new players like Lindores Abbey, Lochlea, Alisa Bay, Lagg, and others – some of whom have shifted deeply into peat rather than the earlier lighter Lowland “style”.

As I went through the Whisky Auction and spotted a 200ml of Glenkinchie 10 year from before 2008, I thought it would be a perfect example of an earlier Lowland experience. Whilst the period for this expression was 1987 – 2007, based on the “Classic Malts of Scotland” label, box colour, I believe it is from the late 1990s, though I could be mistaken. I picked it up for ~Eur 27 (including shipping & auction fees).

Glenkinchie 10 year (~late 1990s) 43%

Nose – Bright, floral – particularly white flowers then tube roses, sharp green apple, inviting, cereals, honey suckle sweet, then gradually became more subdued, a little shy, shifting from green apples to red, from spring to summer…
Palate – Dry, apricot pits, simple and straightforward yet with a rather nice mouthfeel, whilst light, there was some substance there too
Finish – Medium long

Sometimes being “quite pleasant” is simply perfect! That’s exactly what we welcome. I was completely satisfied with this expression and delighted we had a chance to try it.

There remained a few drams in the bottle, enabling an opportunity to revisit at home for a quiet evening, free from distractions. It was even more enjoyable.

Based on this experience, I think I may need to keep an eye out for more Glenkinchie tasting opportunities! Prior to this, my experience was limited to just two expressions:

The Glenkinchie 12 year 43% (which replaced the 10 year) and
A special Diageo limited edition from 2023: Glenkinchie 27 year ‘The Floral Treasure’ (2023) 58.3%

What else did we try in our rare evening?

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Once and awhile, I have the pleasure of joining special evenings… this was one such night!

TheWestin partnered with Nick Ord from Diageo‘s TheSingleton to host a private pairing of whisky and fine cuisine. It was very clear the chef and team spent considerable time and effort experimenting to find just the right combination (and perhaps imbibing along the way too!).

We were greeted by the poolside with a glass of Singleton, served as we wished. It was a hot muggy dark evening but the company was refreshing, the breeze delightful and the experience worth braving Bombay’s traffic to join!

Warning – my camera photos simply do not do justice… even still, you are liable to become rather envious of those lucky enough to be part of the evening.

With that caveat in mind, read on…

Glenkinchie 12 year

Whisky – Aromatic, vanilla, cut flowers and creamy
Salad – Green and white asparagus, burrata with a quinoa chip
Pairing – An excellent starting combination, complimented well, whetted the appetite for more to come…

Caol Ila 12 year

Whisky – Subdued, citrus fruitiness, a fresh and appetising nose, almond oil and after a while a pot pourri
Appetiser – Stuffed Kashmiri morels, mushroom puree
Pairing – Outstanding! Simply superb! Each on their own excellent but combined was easily one of the best pairings I’ve sampled so far. There was simply something about how the feta stuffed morel merged with the Caol Ila to bring out even more in each. Like taking something already fabulous and bring out something even more spectacular. It was that good.

Talisker 10 year

Whisky – Powerful peat-smoke with just a hint of the sea-water salt of fresh oysters, with a citrus sweetness
Option 1 – Panseared scallops, air dried prosciutto, cauliflower and truffle puree
Option 2 – Corn fed chicken smoked in clay oven, spiced yogurt, raw mango and pineapple chutney
Option 3 – Variation of the chicken dish with smoked paneer instead
Pairing – Folks raved about the scallops, spoke well of the chicken and my vegetarian fare was well balanced with the Talisker. Pleasant, worked well but not out of this world like the morel and Caol Ila.

Here Nick Ord from Singleton interjected that we should savour the Talisker 10 as stocks are running low – what is here today may be gone tomorrow.

Lagavulin 16 year

Whisky – Intensely flavoured, peak smoke and a rich, deep sweetness
Option 1 – Australian lamb loin with madeira sauce, milanese risotto, truffle
Option 2 – Indian lamb shank with a signature ‘tear’ sauce and biryani
Options 3 – For vegetarians, broccoli on a mustard infused mash
Pairing – Though by all accounts the Australian lamb was excellent, however as a pairing it simply didn’t hit the high notes. In the case of the vegetarian version, the dish brought out spice in the Lagavulin instead of complimenting. However, by contrast, the Indian lamb biryani was apparently spot on! It was yet another reminder, to not be afraid of bringing more desi flavours into the foreground with whiskies – particularly those with a bit more oomph!

Singleton by Glen Ord 12 year

Whisky – Toasted nut, rich fruit and aromas
Desert – Delightful assortment of mignardises from fresh raspberry to a melting almond ganache to a crunchy ball bursting with flavours and more…
Pairing – Pure joy! After dutifully sampling a nibble of one with the Singleton, I gleefully abandoned all pretence of sticking to one whisky alone. A small bite of pure sin would tell me which whisky might work best… Fantastic way to close the evening!

While these single malts are all ‘standards’ – even familiar friends – it is always a pleasure to revisit… particularly with such carefully planned pairings.

TheWestin Mumbai team clearly put a lot of effort into playing around with possible options. Bravo to the organisers, TheWestin team and Nick!