Glentauchers 18 Year (1996), AD Rattray
Whisky: Glentauchers 18 Year (1996), AD Rattray
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside
ABV: 56.8%
Cask: Bourbon Barrel
Age: 18 Years (Distilled 1 Feb. 1996, Bottled 9 April 2014)
Nose: Orchard fruits and plums, oakmoss and tangerine, brown sugar, musty, hints of dry baking spice and lacquered wood.
Palate: Medium-bodied, bright citrus, orchard fruit, bergamot and oakmoss, musty garden herbs, touch of spirited prickle, mint.
Finish: Medium-length and slightly drying with pepper, mint, and rosemary.
Score: 7
Mental Image: Badger Burrow Winter Larder
Narrative & Notes: A musty cellar of orchard fruits came to mind with wooden boxes stuffed with apples and pears in straw or sawdust. A subtle earthy arboreal quality developed with oak moss, cassia bark, whole nutmeg, cinchona bark, and lacquered wood. Citrus bloomed with more time as bright tangerine, lemon peel, and dark brown sugar appeared with a more subtle herbal rosemary. Medium-bodied, the profile featured bright citrus and musty garden herbs with a touch of spirited prickle at the end. Tangerines and oranges popped with apples, pears, and plums following shortly behind; the fruits were bright and crisp above hints of musty bergamot and oakmoss. The underlying herbal character took control on the back end with herbal tinctures of rosemary, cassia bark, mugwort, peppercorns, and mint that accompanied a spirited prickle. The finish was medium-length and slightly drying with pepper, mint, and rosemary.
Musty and herbal, this Glentauchers was an interesting pour whose lovely variations on garden herbs and orchard fruits combined pleasantly. The flavors were generally well-integrated and balanced, with just a touch of spirited prickle on the back end, which sometimes veered toward white pepper. The experience left me imagining an unfinished earthen basement with jars of herbs in oil or alcohol sitting and waiting to be used in making various tinctures or baking projects.
Overall, an interesting whisky with some lovely variations and levels of flavor. It was a bit different from all the other Glentauchers I have tried lately, and I admired how much more complex and balanced it felt. It was no simple orchard fruit, citrus, and pastry affair— not that there is anything wrong with those notes, but it is nice to encounter something a touch different.
