My first look at Glengoyne's 18-year old and also one of their more recent additions, the second edition of the NAS 'Legacy' - which is the cheapest way (and one of the only ways) to get Glengoyne at a decent ABV.
Here in Australia, Glengoyne single malt is essentially exclusive to our largest retailer. For quite some time they have been importing the brand directly from the manufacturer, along with owner Ian McLeod's other brands like Tamdhu and Smokehead. This does not mean it's cheaper (particularly not the 21yo and above) than it would be otherwise, it just means that the owner of said retailer is making more profit than they would otherwise since there's no third party involved. That owner used to be one of our two major supermarket chains, but their liquor & hotel division separated from the supermarket a couple of years ago. This is the largest liquor & hospitality company in the country, with literally thousands of bottle shops / liquor stores, over 350 pubs & hotels (including gambling machines of course), half a dozen wineries, and even a wine auction house. They have enough buying power, even in our small whisky market, to import brands of whisky & whiskey directly from the distilleries or their owners, cutting out the competition and netting higher profit margins. That higher profit margin does have one advantage for the customer though; it means that they're more aggressive with their promotional / clearance pricing, with regular discounts of $20-40 off various Glengoyne expressions in said retailer's "member's offers" - which of course is just a glorified mailing list and "loyalty" program. I shouldn't complain here, because I'm on that mailing list, and I've recently taken advantage of one of these "member's offers". Thanks to a heads-up on social media I picked up a sample pack containing 3 x 200ml bottles of Glengoyne - 12-year old, 18-year old and NAS 'Legacy' - for $57 AUD, which is a serious bargain on these shores for 600ml of single malt, regardless of age. This purchase did make me feel a little dirty, since I try to support our smaller independent retailers wherever possible, and I can count my whisky purchases from this retailer on one hand, but this was impossible to resist. That discounted price would be below cost price for any independent retailer in this country, if they were able to get their hands on it at all, which they can't because it's exclusive to the giant corporation that is well & truly dominating the industry. Moving right along...
I've only reviewed Glengoyne's entry level 10-year old previously, where I've covered most of the distillery details (click here), so I won't repeat them all again. The main points are: no peat or smoke whatsoever, the southernmost mainland distillery in the Highland region, and slow distillation. One major claim to fame in the past was their use of Golden Promise barley, the same variety that played a large part in building Macallan's historical reputation. I've had the privilege of trying an absolutely brilliant Glengoyne distilled in the 1970s when they still used it exclusively, but Golden Promise is no longer used at Glengoyne in any proportion, and not at Macallan either. Another historical claim to fame was Glengoyne's exclusive use of sherry casks in official bottlings, but much like Macallan and also Highland Park that's no longer the case. It may not surprise you to learn that those three distilleries were owned by the Edrington group right up until 2003, when Glengoyne was sold to current owners Ian McLeod Distillers. As for the current range, Glengoyne 10-year old is an OK whisky as a basic entry level single malt, but being bottled at 40% ABV, matured in tired refill sherry casks, and being chill filtered means it's unlikely to blow anyone's mind. The 12-year old is the next step in their very busy line-up, with a small step up to 43%. Then you have a 15-year old, an 18-year old, and a $330 21-year old, all bottled at 43% and chill filtered. Then there's a 25-year old (for a silly $875 AUD) and a 30-year old (even sillier at $1,700 AUD) that are bottled at 48% and 46.8% ABV respectively. Then there's two non-age statement bottlings, the $120 'Legacy' at 48% ABV and the $150 Cask Strength, both of which are non-chill filtered. And that's only the distillery's core range!
We'll take a look at the 18-year old first. Considering it's bottled at 43% ABV and is chill filtered, this isn't a cheap whisky among other 18-year olds - $220 in this great southern land. I suppose that's not as bad as some, though (ahem, Highland Park, and now also Talisker). Maturation in the 18-year old is "a generous proportion of first-fill sherry casks", which leads me to believe the rest will be refill casks. Supposedly all of Glengoyne's casks are "prepared" for six years before their first whisky filling, in fact they even print this figure on their labelling, including those where refill casks are used. Don't take that figure to mean that they've been seasoned with bourbon or sherry for six years - that time includes the air-drying of the wood prior to the casks being coopered and then seasoned before they're sent to Scotland. It'd certainly be nice to get a little more transparency from Glengoyne, and while they're at it they might as well skip the chill filtration and bump some of their ABVs up to 46%. At least they don't add any artificial colouring to their single malts, all are natural colour. Let's see how the 18-year old fares, shall we?
Glengoyne 18-year old, 43% ABV. Highlands, Scotland.
Matured in "a generous proportion of first-fill sherry casks", with the remainder being refill casks. Chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Gold.
Nose: Fruity, spicy & sweet. Caramelised brown sugar, baked red apples, golden raisins (not the dark variety), and orange peel. Vanilla cake frosting / icing, apricot jam, white pepper. Ginger syrup & fresh stone fruit around the edges. More oak spices & some golden syrup with more time.
Texture: Light weight. Thin, fresh, spicy - drying spices. No heat.
Taste: Light & easy. More caramelised brown sugar, dried apricot, fresh red apple skins, and orange peel. Currants here rather than raisins. White pepper and ginger again, but crystallised ginger this time. Touch of cocoa powder.
Finish: Medium length. Crystallised ginger and white pepper carry through, touch of pear juice, and spicy dry oak. Orange peel, bitter black tea, and toffee 'til the end.
Score: 2.5 out of 5. That's still an easy pass mark for all of you score snobs!
Notes: Pleasant, easy drinking dram but with a surprising amount of drying spices & tannins. I know they said the proportion of first-fill sherry casks was "generous", but this seems more refill sherry cask-led to me, particularly given the age. There's nothing wrong with a good dose of refill sherry casks of course, this is merely my own observation and is not a criticism. While we're not criticising, the finish on this 18-year old has a surprisingly good length to it given the low ABV and the unfortunate chill filtration. But it'd be nice to see Glengoyne up the ABV on these older releases (i.e. 18-years and beyond) to 46% and to ditch the chill filtration in the process. That'd give them some more texture and weight on the palate, which is sorely needed at the current asking prices, which are far from cheap. Still, for a light, easy drinking Lowland-style Highlander, this Glengoyne does fit the bill, and the attractive packaging will help get it over the line for much of the target audience.
Next up, the NAS 'Legacy', bottled at 48% ABV and retailing for $120 locally. A reasonably-priced Glengoyne at a decent strength without chill filtration. Yippee! This is the second version of Glengoyne Legacy, labelled as "Chapter Two", which was bottled in late-2020 but is still readily available here in Australia. There's obviously no age information given, but they do tell us that it was matured in 48% first-fill bourbon casks, 17% first-fill sherry casks, and 35% un-specified refill casks. Price-wise this expression seems a little oddly placed in the Glengoyne line-up, since it's close to the asking price for the NAS Cask Strength bottling, but is nearly half the price of the 18-year old, making it the cheapest way to get a Glengoyne at a decent bottling strength. 2019's "Chapter One" used some first-fill European oak sherry casks combined with "prized refill casks" (bleurgh), and the third Legacy bottling released in 2022 was from a mix of refill sherry and refill bourbon casks, so it'll be different again when it lands in Australia. One complaint before we get into it though; unless I've missed it there is no mention of non-chill filtration either on the packaging, or on the labels, or on the distillery's website. The first Legacy release had non-chill filtered clearly stated on the tube and on the label, and yet with chapter two and also chapter three that has seemingly been omitted. Surely it's non-chill filtered since it's bottled at 48% ABV like chapter one, right? But if that's the case, why take the statement off the label & packaging. Come on Glengoyne!
Matured in 48% first-fill bourbon, 17% first-fill sherry, and 35% un-named refill casks. Presumed non-chill filtered but not stated on bottle or packaging, or website. Natural colour.
Colour: Gold. Almost identical to the 18.
Nose: Fruity, rich & inviting. The additional weight is immediately obvious. Marzipan, cinnamon, sweetened vanilla cream (Chantilly), buttery oak. Fresh orange & nectarine, raspberry jam on white toast. Nice malty cereal sweetness in the background. Touches of old leather & powdered ginger.
Texture: Medium weight. Silky, fruity, light spicy. No heat at all.
Taste: More sweetened vanilla cream, fresh nectarine, touch of white peach. Marzipan & buttery oak again, touch of dried banana (i.e. banana chips) and a little milk chocolate. Powdered ginger, pear juice. Dried lemon around the edges.
Finish: Medium length. Lovely malty sweetness with more dried banana, cinnamon, and vanilla cream. Sweet pear juice, and dried raspberry. Sweet pastry (e.g. tart cases) and dried lemon to finish.
Score: 3 out of 5.
Notes: Quite the surprise, since I was - wrongly - expecting a youthful rush-job when looking at this Legacy bottling on paper. Particularly given the small difference in pricing compared to the Cask Strength. But it's certainly not a rush-job. Of course there's more weight on the palate than the 18-year old, that's immediately obvious, and those first-fill bourbon casks have been well-mannered. There's not a huge amount of complexity here I suppose, which could be down to youth, but what is there is easily accessible and very enjoyable. This is my first bourbon cask-led Glengoyne bottling (since there aren't many to choose from!), but it certainly seems to work very well. Reasonable pricing as well. Definitely worth a try.
Cheers!
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