Whisky: Glenburgie 26 Year (1983), Signatory Vintage Cask 9812

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 55.2%

Cask: Hogshead

Age: 26 Years (Distilled 26 Oct. 1983, Bottled 2 Oct. 2010)

Nose: Industrial and fruity, machine grease and mineral oil, tractor tires, fruitier with time, strawberry guava, tinned pineapple, subtle cacao.

Palate: Medium-bodied and oily, tropical fruits, subtle metallic and mineral notes, citrus, tar and grease, oak, dried grass and earth, herbal tobacco or tea.

Finish: Long, waxy, and slightly drying with tinned fruit, wood, and rose hip or mineral oil.

Score: 8+

Mental Image: Pineapple Plantation Tractor Barn

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was dirty and fruity with overlaying industrial quality of petrol, machine or lithium grease, mineral oil, and tractor tires— like wandering into a musty, greasy, slightly earthy machine shed on a fruit plantation. The fruitier side sat just a bit further in, and ample time to rest brought out more sweet melon wrapped with salt prosciutto, strawberry guava, slightly metallic tinned pineapple, and subtly bitter cacao nibs. Medium-bodied and oily; fruit took center stage on the flavor profile with industrial and herbal notes in a supporting role. Tinned pineapple and nectarines opened up with mango and hints of bitter orange, lime, and mint. Tractor tires and engine grease arrived next with old wooden pencils, dry grassy sugar cane husks, and earthy chocolate. Toward the end, more herbal notes, between smoked tea leaves and tobacco, developed with a musty, woody funk and hints of bubblegum. The finish was long, waxy, and slightly drying with tinned fruit, wood, and rose hip or mineral oil.

I love Glenburgie; I love the fruity nature of the distillate and how weird it can sometimes get with funky farmyard or dirty industrial notes. Some of those qualities disappeared from the spirit in the '90s, though I have found them in younger ones from the 2010s. I thought this dram sat nicely in the evolution or changing profile of the distillery, a happy middle ground between the more industrial vintage Glenburgie I reviewed at the end of 2022 and the grassy-tropical spirit more common on 20-somethings from the 90s. It was not quite a missing link, but it provided a nice flavor bridge between the two.

My wife found far less dirty industrial notes on this. She described it as ripe strawberries with a touch of earth but an overarching sweet-tangy fruit. She rated this highly as a potential kickback or bath-time whisky.

Overall, I loved this, and it was quite the bottle to stumble upon on my birthday earlier this year.

Image Credit: My forgetful past self who did not think to take a photo of the full bottle but apparently took a photo when I decanted it into smaller containers. Sadly, the cork was in rough shape, so it needed to be rebottled.