Whisky: Glenburgie 28 Year (1994), Gordon & MacPhail Cask 10081

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 50.1%

Cask: Refill American Oak Hogshead

Age: 28 Years (Distilled 1994, Bottled 24 Aug. 2023)

Nose: Cereals, honey, and citrus; hints of more tropical fruits, malty and woody.

Palate: Medium-bodied, orchard fruits, seeds, cereals, gradually more tropical, oily nuts, wood and pepper, dried grass.

Finish: Medium to long with dried fruit, honey, and wood.

Score: 6 (78)

Mental Image: Stereotypical 90s American Breakfast

Narrative & Notes: Honey, citrus, and cereals— a big time breakfast dram! Grapefruit juice and lemonade, maybe even an Arnold Palmer with mango ice tea mixed with lemonade, developed alongside honey touched breakfast cereals, Golden Grams maybe, or Honey Bunches of Oats, more likely. Malty with a mellow woodiness than ran something closer to Ikea furniture than something sturdier. Medium-bodied with loads of honey and apple slices— it was a chop bowl fit a kingly Parrot with green apple slices, banana chips, dried papaya, guava, salty sunflower seeds, and some fatty pine nuts. Manufactured wooden furniture, the kind that comes in too many pieces, hung in the background with a touch of woody pepper and dried grass.  The finish was medium to long with hints of dried fruit, honey, and oak.

This is as close as I can recall a review of mine matching the bottle notes from Gordon & MacPhail. I often think we must have very different palates— me and the mystery whisky writer who gets a few lines on the front of the Connoisseurs Choice label.  I rarely seem to line up on more than one, or maybe two, notes, but here I have more or less all of the same ones they do, minus the white chocolate and plus a few others since I am not under the same word count.

I was lucky enough to try this bottle on a few occasions and bring home a sample for further study.  It opened a bit over time, but remained woodier and more austere than some of the glorious Glenburgie from June 1995. Hints of something more tropical gradually emerged, but green apples remained the dominant fruit note and everything else required work to find— a bit too much when it comes to just casual sipping in my humble opinion.

Overall, a lovely whisky in its own right, but missing some of the dynamism of those from slightly later or earlier in time. I may be biased and judging a bit harshly here considering my love of Glenburgie and high standards.