Whisky : Glenburgie 20 Year (1995), Five Lions Private Collection

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 53.7%

Cask : 2nd Fill Bourbon Hogshead

Age : 20 Year (Distilled June 1995, Bottled Nov. 2015)

Nose : Tropical fruit, cream, and wood.  Initially full of tropical fruits with passionfruit, longan, and unripened rambutans.  Creamy notes gave it the impression of mango custard and lilikoi cream cheese bars.  Subtle sugary notes of butterscotch and toffee emerged along with an interesting woody-nuttiness that varied between stone fruit pits, pistachio shells, and walnut pastries.

Palate : Medium bodied and a bit oily with notes of tropical fruit, coastal salt, and tropical botanical gardens.  Subtly sweet with notes of just ripened mangos, creamy vanilla cherimoya, green papaya, and unripened pineapple.  Gentle maritime and floral notes contrasted with the fruits offering up coastal breezes, salty fish sauce, and earthy tropical botanical gardens.  At the end was a mild bitter herbal note.

Finish : Lingering fruit, oiliness, and salt.

Score : 7 

Mental Image : Seaside Gardens 

Notes : This was absolutely delightful and reminded me strongly of some of my favorite Arrans and Longmorns with its tropical fruits and faint earthiness.  I loved the salinity that came through on the palate which contrasted nicely against the fruits.  The quality of the cask really shown through on this as it accentuated some of the tropical fruit of the Glenburgie malt.  I wish those notes had come through a bit stronger— or that the dram had been a tad heavier.  If the fruits came off as riper and juicier this would have easily gone up a few notches on my scale.  The mild bitter note that came at the end was left the dram on a slightly down note.

Overall, this was a delicious Glenburgie and I remain a fan of the distillery.  At two decades in the cask this offered a lot of mellow fruity complexity that reminded me of shoreline strolls and beach gardens.  While there were a few things a bit off on the dram, it was still quite good and certainly deserves a place in the category of “bath time soak” or “summer time evening sit” drams.

Image Credit : WhiskyAuctioneer.com