Whisky: Glenury Royal 37 Year (1973), The Whisky Agency

Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands

ABV: 43.0%

Cask: Bourbon Hogshead

Age: 37 Years (Distilled 1973, Bottled 2011)

Nose: Gentle and fragrant, candied fruits, pineapple ham, lacquered wood, rosewater, motor oil, creamy butter, almond cookies.

Palate: Medium-bodied, oily, chocolate oranges, floral candies, hints of mint and caramel, motor shop, greasy rags, dirty lawn mower, freshly cut grass, dark chocolate.

Finish: Long and lingering with dark chocolate, butterscotch, and grassy sugars.

Score: 8-9

Mental Image: Midday Garage Tea Break

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was gentle but fragrant as it presented candied fruits and pineapple jam shortbread cookies on lacquered wood. Rosewater tingled around the edges with motor oil and creamy butter, an odd combination that worked well with dry almond cookies and toasted almond slivers. Medium-bodied and oily, the flavor profile moved between the sweet shop, body shop, and a freshly cut lawn. Chocolate oranges and floral rose or violet candies arrived first with a touch of mint and caramel. An underlying dirtiness, akin to a motor pool or car shop, slowly came to the fore with greasy rags, petrol, and a dirty lawnmower covered in freshly cut green grass. More wood arrived toward the end, with citrus and bitter chocolate hanging on. The finish was long with dark chocolate, butterscotch, and grassy sugars.

I was stunned into submission by the whisky list at Singapore’s Auld Alliance— choice paralysis! However, I knew I wanted to try at least one distillery I had never had before. I settled on a relatively low abv Glenury Royal. I figured that with the low abv, which seems to have been cask strength, it would be an excellent place to warm up for the evening, not the kind of bottle that would stand out later if I waited.

For those who have never heard of the distillery, and that is not a huge surprise if you have not, considering it closed four decades ago, Glenury Royal was among the DCL (forerunner to Diageo) distilleries that fell silent as the effects of the Whisky Loch spread in the early 1980s. Production ceased in 1982, and the distillery officially shuttered in 1985; this ghost distillery will not return to life as the property was redeveloped into housing in the 1990s.

Overall, fantastic. The flavors were rich and complex, with a lovely “old malt” dirtiness and greenness to the finish that is often highlighted as characteristic of the period. I thought there was a satisfying balance between fruit, floral, industrial, and dark chocolate elements. Though poking around on Whisky Base, some found those dark chocolate notes to be a less pleasant bitter oak. I enjoyed the contrast that element provided, and I cannot imagine I will ever find another whisky that reminds me of a dirty lawn mower.