Whisky : Glentauchers 17 Year SMWS 63.57 “Fields of Pleasure”

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 55.2%

Cask : 2nd Fill Ex-bourbon Barrel

Age : 17 Years (Distilled 9 May 2002)

Nose : Citrus and cream— key lime pie, jujube, and canned pears.  Sugar and malt came through as caramelized peach upside down cake, apples, vanilla, and candied toasted coconuts.

Palate : Medium bodied with a nice waxiness and notes of orchard fruits and citrus.  Opened with sugary granular fruits like chico, or sapodilla, and waxy pear skins.  Peppercorn swept across the palate with unripened fruits and crisp chilled chardonnay.  Waxy fruit skins, apple pits, and a kiss of vanilla at the end.

Finish : Lingering dryness that built with time along with candied pear skins.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Pair of Pared Pears

Notes :  This Glentauchers was a delightful and intensely fruity.  The dram led me right into a fruit orchard and then abandoned me to wander endless groves of waxy pears and apples.  While this had tons of lovely fruits, it was a bit on the simple side.  The sweet fruits never became cloying or overly saccharine as there were occasionally slightly bitter-wood notes at the end which provided balance.  This was a fine sipper, but the nose made promises that the palate could not keep, and that kept this from notching up from above average to something great.

Overall, this was a lovely Glentauchers with a simple fruity profile.  I remain pretty hot on the distillery and it was fun to try one that has not been lathered with a thick sherry cask finish or maturation.