Glenturret Ruadh Mhor 13 Year (2010), Berry Bros & Rudd Cask 58
Whisky: Glenturret Ruadh Mhor 13 Year (2010), Berry Bros & Rudd Cask 58
Country/Region: Scotland/Highland
ABV: 59.8%
Cask: Sherry Butt
Age: 13 Years (Distilled 2010, Bottled 2023)
Nose: Dirty with rubber tires, autumn leaves, earth, chimney smoke, barnyard funk at times with subtle orchard fruits.
Palate: Medium-bodied, earthy with soot and sherry funk, rubber tires, barbecue meat, mushroom, salty shoyu.
Finish: Medium length and mild with earth, rubber, and charred fruits.
Score: 7 (84)
Mental Image: Birthday Barbecue at the Petting Zoo
Narrative & Notes: Impressively dirty— Pig Pen would be proud— with old rubber tractor tires, fallen autumn leaves, and dusty dirt on a playground. Autumn chimney smoke, or a late season grill, offered a richness that occasionally drifted in a farmy direction; perhaps we were at the apple orchard petting zoo this whole time. Medium-bodied on the palate, the flavor profile was equally dirty with tons of sherry funk amplifying the earthier qualities of the peated malt. Old rubber tires on the playground with barnyard notions of a goat petting zoo and occasional hints of marinated meats on the barbecue— maybe a frightful image for the petting zoo. Rich and earthy, the flavors danced toward loam and wet underbrush with mushrooms and a touch of shoyu. The finish was medium length and mild with earth, rubber, and charred fruits.
This was a filthy little number as the sherry butt worked to amplify the farmy and earthy qualities of the peated malt. The sulfur sensitive may want to avoid this one, though anyone who doesn’t mind a bit of cask funk should find a riotously good time, especially those concentrated mushroomy earth notes that verged in shiitake. The wife found some of the rubbery aspects reminded her more of eraser and eraser dust than tires; she was also a fan.
Overall, emblematic of the rich and sometimes dirty style of peated Glenturret. I love this feisty young Glenturret and I hope there are enough casks still slumbering that we get to see what they look like with further maturation.
