Tag Archives: Signatory Vintage

Signatory’s Glenlivet 17 year 62.3%

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Before the summer break, our Nurnberg Whisky Explorers group held an evening devoted to special “Glens” – not your ordinary every day “Glens” but the “top shelf” variety!

I generally think I’m not very snobbish about my single malt. Yes I prefer quality but I’ve also been known to enjoy a value for money dram too! When it comes to Glenlivet, I’ve mostly experienced the standard fare with the occasional exception mixed in for good measure. So when this bottle was offered for our special Glens evening, I was curious but had no big expectations.

Glenlivet 17 year (15/08/2006 – 21/11/2023) 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt, Cask No 900806 62.3% (Signatory Vintage) Bottle 74 of 599 ~Eur 128.50

  • Colour – Dark gold
  • Nose – Mmmmm fruity! Followed by wet leaves after a heavy rain, quite mellow, sweet with a medium dark wildflower honey, a warm perfume shifting into dark plums combining fresh forest scents – marvelous! The longer we contemplated the nose, the more it evolved – dark fruits, chocolate, and behind the berries was a citrus twist! Then toast with marmite…
  • Palate – Wow! Sherry and how! Strong and full, with real substance… rolling around, it built on the aromas with a combination of dark fruits and mocha
  • Finish – Long and really incredibly satisfying

Overall we were impressed. The aroma without water had a beautiful evolution from light to dark, inviting and enticing us to give it more and more time to open up. Whereas on the palate, there was no mystery! It was clear that we were sipping a 1st fill Sherry – more intense, flavourful, and forceful than anticipated from the nose alone… however, this should be expected at a powerful 62.3% ABV! One person described the palate as crashing waves (brandung)!

This is not a lightweight and yet also has some serious highlights too! So we were curious, what about the impact of adding some water? It was like having two whiskies in one!

  • Nose – Malty and citrus, ground coffee and dates, resin and English marmalade
  • Palate – Much more approachable but in some ways not quite as interesting
  • Finish – Remains with a hint of red licorice joining

We set this whisky aside and revisited to find the one with water had clearly veered towards the sweet side – candied apple, bubblegum, marshmallow, pear – delicious!

Alas I could not find any official tasting notes from Signatory – this particular edition was from an earlier batch than currently available. Suffice to say, it was indeed a 1st fill Sherry Butt and truly an unexpected treat.

A clear reminder – do not underestimate the big boys! They are big for a reason and equally have a prodigious range of casks – so no surprise there are gems to be found.

What else did we try in our special Glens-themed evening?

  • A revisit of Chorlton’s Glentauchers 8 year and 14 year
  • Glenburgie 26 year (1995 – 27/04/2022)  1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Puncheon Cask No 6349, Batch 22/090 56.8% (Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice) 564 Bottles

Curious about other Glenlivet tasting experiences? Read on…

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Nurnberg Whisky Explorer’s Special Glens Evening

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Our Nurnberg Whisky Explorers group decided to skip summer sessions, however still managed to sneak in an early July session. Why? It was an opportunity to celebrate a member’s new job with an extra special Glenburgie as the fabulous excuse!

So what did we try in our special Glen themed evening?

We kicked off our evening with a wee calibration dram – in this case, we thought the open Arran would do the trick!

We then compared the Glentauchers 14 year followed by the more robust 8 year. Alas the Glentauchers 14 lost some of its charm through oxidation – more sour green apple and strawberry yoghurt than an elegant and nuanced rum topf.

However, the Glentauchers 8 year remained a delight with a fabulous mouthfeel, spice, black forest cake, and more!

As for the Glenburgie? It entranced us with its nuanced, complex character – fruity yet with substance. An absolute treat!

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Glen Elgin – Original Bottling, Independent, Smoke

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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!

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BMC Indie Bottlers: Benrinnes 1997 Singatory Vintage

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The beauty of being part of the world whisky fabric is how even if you miss the main tasting experience, a generous soul or two can help arrange for a sample.

This was the case with the Bombay Malt & Cigar lads February 2024 session which featured a trio of independent bottles. I was warned that the experience had been a bit of a disappointment. However, one whisky was the clear favourite.

I decided to shake things up a bit more! I took the samples with me to our farm in rural Maharashtra and put their Singatory Vintage Benrinnes side by side with a recently opened Chorlton cask strength.

Not knowing anything about the Benrinnes beyond the vintage – 1997 – on 1st whiff it was clear this one needed to go 1st. We later discovered the ABV was reduced to 46% – the Connoisseur’s strength – making starting here the choice perfect!

Benrinnes 18 years (27 Feb 1997 – 28 July 2015) Hogshead 46% 

  • Nose – Shy, quiet aroma, soft fruits, biscuits, a hint of saline. After the 1st sip, it really opened up to reveal a super fruity side with mango and pineapple
  • Palate – What a contrast! It began with a spice kick, full and fruity, fresh figs and guava, then lychees and mangosteens, then opened up in a rather interesting way
  • Finish – A bit bitter
  • Revisit – Delightful! Though had a bit of a soapy perfume element… when the glass was drained, it kept a fresh fruity perfume

My tasting companion described it as quite sensual. Though muted, the subtle and nuanced aromas captivated us. The palate was much more colourful than anticipated. Above all, the more time in the glass, the more we enjoyed it.

We then compared it with the cask strength Chorlton’s Benrinnes 14 year 55%.

  • Nose – If the Signatory Vintage expression was shy, the Chorlton was the opposite! It greeted us with gorgeous fruits… then as it opened, we also found malty biscuits, tiramisu, burnt caramel
  • Palate – Whilst the Signatory had a surprising spice kick for a whisky that was only 46%, no surprise at 55% the Chorlton had HUGE spice!
  • Finish – Both had a bitter edge, with the Chorlton having a particularly long finish
  • Water – Does wonders on the nose, tames the palate, and brings it closer to the Signatory Vintage

We just so happened to have a fig and bocca with basil salad. It made for a marvelous combination with the Chorlton. However, in terms of just a sipping dram, the 1st was the preferred whisky.

The theme was Highland “independents” from two different well-known independent bottlers – Signatory and Gordon & Macphail, mostly acquired via La Maison du Whisky. In addition to the Benrinnes, we also had:

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