Glenburgie 21 Year, Single Malts of Scotland
Whisky : Glenburgie 21 Year, Single Malts of Scotland
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 55.2%
Cask : Hogshead
Age : 21 Year (Distilled 8 Oct. 1998, Bottled 1 Nov. 2019)
Nose : Tropical fruits, sugary syrup, and herbal tea. Coconut or haupia pancake syrup, canned pineapple chunks, lilikoi bars, buttery mango pies, and guava candies. Sweet and syrupy with notes of POG juice concentrate (passion, orange, guava) as well as a mild creaminess and herbal notes of hibiscus or rooibos tea.
Palate : Medium-bodied and mildly oily with notes of tropical fruits and vanilla cream. Began with tart tropical fruits: unripened mango and dragonfruits before waves of honey, açaí berries, and malty granola appeared. Notes of creamy yogurt on the mid-palate with guava, mango, and vanilla cream. On the back end were the creamy coconut notes of haupia as well as the vanilla custard tropical fruit vibe of a cherimoya.
Finish : Lingering dried mango and guava pancake syrup
Score : 7
Mental Image : Tropical Pancake Syrup
Notes : Another absolutely class Glenburgie. I am not really into tropical fruit or coconut-flavored pancake syrups, but I loved the impression of those syrups in this dram. This was sweet and juicy without ever turning overly saccharine. Glenburgie can be absolutely exceptional and after attempting to side by side this with a group of other 20 something single casks from the distillery, I was surprised at just how consistent the flavor profile was. In fact, each of them reminded me strongly of prior examples from the distillery— none of them were major outliers or had any sort of crazy off notes. Even the younger Glenburgies I have tried all fit within the same basic consistent profile.
This gives me confidence that just about any bottle I buy will be good and helps tamp down any FOMO I feel toward any one bottle of Glenburgie. If they are going to be consistently good and have similar flavor profiles, then there is no need to stress over making sure I have any specific bottle at home. I can relax and know that whenever a bottle is empty, I should be able to find something similar but with a unique or slightly different twist or flavor balance.
Overall, this was a rock-solid Glenburgie with loads of delicious tropical fruits, hints of malt, and exotic sugars. It had an excellent body and a nice fruity finish— truly a perfect dram for relaxing with at the end of the day.
Image Credit : user Dirk on Whiskybase.com
