Whisky: Glenturret 14 Year (2005), Gordon & MacPhail 

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 52.8%

Cask: First Fill Sherry Hogshead

Age: 14 Year (Distilled 2005, Bottled 5 June 2019)

Nose: Sweet sherry fruits, leather, and tobacco. Blood orange and stewed dates mixed with sweet tobacco and subtle hints of ginger, brown sugar, and cardamon. Brown sugar buns and walnuts coalesced over time.

Palate: Medium-bodied and mildly astringent with fruit, wood, and caramel. Blood orange, pineapple, and cherry poked out between heady notes of lacquered wood, leather, and dried grass. Caramelized fruit sugars and molasses gave the impression of a pineapple upside down cake or sticky buns, with notes of dark cocoa appearing at the end.

Finish: Lingering dryness with cocoa and cherry pits.

Score: 6

Mental Image: Sherry Street Cherry Merchant

Notes: Certain to delight fans of heavily sherried Glenturret, I was disappointed that the distillery's character was totally submerged under the cask's influence. Oaky flavors and tannins ran roughshod over the palate— sweet at first but dry toward the end. Sherry notes were just as dominant as expected on a "big dumb sherry dram," though intriguing hints of tropical fruits gave extra depth and complexity. I cannot imagine this cask had ever been used before its anointment with sherry and time maturing this whisky.

Overall, a good friend, who counts himself a big fan of Glenturret and sherry bombs— doubly so when it is a Glenturret sherry bomb— adored this dram (though no one else at the tasting seemed particularly enamored.) If you, like him, love a rich sherry blast of fruit, leather, and oak, you would no doubt score this a few notches higher. I love Glenturret, but I am less enthused when the Mighty Sherry Hammer of the Norse Gods smashes down on a malt, so it was less my jam.