Islay cask finish | Whisky Lady

Our Nurnberg Whisky Explorers group has a combination of what we call “curated” evenings and “contribution” based themes. For April, we had effectively two sessions in one! Each was carefully put together to introduce those newer to exploring whiskies with a strong foundation.

Let’s start with the Glen Elgin vertical. For those not familiar, a whisky vertical is when you explore different expressions or vintages from a single distillery. In our case, Glen Elgin distillery is from the Speyside region and is owned by Diageo.

Sukhinder Singh (founder of The Whisky Exchange) shared that he sees Glen Elgin as often producing a nice “session” dram. Something easy to enjoy over a leisurely period. So what did we think?

So what did we try in our theme exploring Glen Elgin?

Glen Elgin 12 year 43% (OB) ~Eur 43
Glen Elgin 12 year (16 Sep 2009 – 15 Apr 2022) Hogshead 806374, 806380, 806381 46% (Signatory Vintage) 468 bottles ~Eur 50
Glen Elgin Islay Peated Finish Hogshead 44.5% (Murray McDavid) ~Eur 37

Glen Elgin Distillery was founded in 1898 and uses six stills and six wooden worm tubs. Known for a fruity spirit, it has tended to go into blends and has only one “Original Distillery Bottling” aka “OB”. What did we think?

Glen Elgin 12 year 43% (OB)

Colour – Dark gold (possibly enhanced)
Nose – Marshmellow, apple blossoms, oats, a hint of bitter orange, some fresh grated ginger, overall mild and fruity
Palate – Spicy oak, malty, light coffee cream, crisp
Finish – Lingering cereals – think a warming porridge with apple sauce, brown sugar and a dusting of cinnamon

Overall we found it a most enjoyable way to begin. Nothing complex or challenging, just an easy fruity and fun dram to whet our appetite.

We then moved from OB to independent – first with another 12 year old – this time a combination of three Hogsheads from Singatory’s vintage series.

Glen Elgin 12 year (16 Sep 2009 – 15 Apr 2022) Hogshead 806374, 806380, 806381 46% (Signatory Vintage)

Colour – Bright light straw
Nose – Citrus and hay, honeycomb, red apple, so fruity and sweet, light lovely and inviting…
Palate – More cereals and spice, rich honey, incredibly smooth, yet much richer, dark and juicy, very plummy, almost rummy with raisins
Finish – Subtle and long

A few times one could hear exclamations like “Gosh this is good!” and “Truly lovely!” It had the most marvelous light freshness on the nose, so much heavier and more luxurious on the palate then back to a lighter more nuanced touch with the finish. One mighty fine dram!

Our fun didn’t finish with just one independent! Nope! We pushed the theme further by tasting a contrasting Glen Elgin with peat – yup peat! However this Glen Elgin didn’t use peated barley, instead it was matured in an ex-Islay cask.

Glen Elgin Islay Peated Finish Hogshead 44.5% (Murray McDavid)

Colour – A lighter golden hue
Nose – Interesting! It started off a bit metallic, seaside salty spray, light spice, some lemon peel… unmistakable peat yet it was a clear fresh peat joined by crisp and crunchy Granny Smith apples, some pepper
Palate – Spicy, thin, coco, toasted coal
Finish – Medium finish
Water – Stewed orchard fruits, salty taffy, some almost wine-like elements… grows on you more over time

You’ll note a certain enthusiasm for the aromas and then terseness with the palate and finish until we added water. It was underwhelming initially. Yet improved with water – some cereal elements we found in both the OB and Signatory were more discernable. Overall though it was a bit, well, odd.

As we stepped back and considered each whisky, there was a clear preference for the Signatory Vintage expression though also quite happy with the OB. With just a few more Euros a bottle, it was obvious to go for the independent! It was just the peated McDavid that caused some of us to pause – in part as peat has a mixed reception from this group!

Overall, it was an excellent introduction to Glen Elgin and a very well-curated theme!

Interested in joining our Nurnberg Whisky Explorer events? Just find us on Meetup! https://www.meetup.com/nurnberg-whisky-explorers/events/

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