Glenturret 1976 Pure Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
Whisky: Glenturret 1976 Pure Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
Country/Region: Scotland/Highland
ABV: 40%
Cask: Oak
Age: NAS (Distilled 1976)
Nose: Creamy and fruity, slightly sour at times; pepper, desiccated coconut, herbal tea, citrusy.
Palate: Light-bodied, tropical fruits, florals, creamy, flat unsweetened cola, mossy, pepper, minerals, rubber latex.
Finish: The finish was medium to long with soft tropical fruits, earth, and cream.
Score: 6 (79)
Mental Image: Cottage Cheese and Tropical Preserves
Narrative & Notes: Exotic fruits and clotted cream joined with bursts of pepper and desiccated coconut. Was it high tea in the tropics with passionfruit, rambutan, and earl grey? Perhaps, or maybe orange curd and a soft creamy goat’s milk cheese— though only the distant aroma as the affair was relatively restrained, though intriguing, with hints of creamy sourness. Light-bodied with tropical fruits and florals, buttery cream arrived first with a flat unsweetened cola note before moving on to a mossy woodland trail of pepper, mineral graphite, and rubbery latex. The finish was medium to long with soft tropical fruits, earth, and cream.
This Glenturret hailed from the era when Towser prowled the distillery grounds, setting her Guinness record for mouse kills. The romance of Glenturret’s famous cat was not enough for the wife, who found the flat cola and rubber balloon notes on the palate to be a touch unpleasant, but still rated the whisky highly as she considered the unusual flavor combination compelling— at least for a one off. She will not run out to grab more mini bottles of Glenturret 1976. I enjoyed it quite a bit and thought it was excellent for our tasting, even if the flavors were fleeting and required chasing. I really wanted to just kick back with a big pour and not think about much at all.
Overall, a fun window into the eccentric whiskies produced at one of the smaller Highland distilleries to survive the twentieth century— though it nearly did not as it sat silent and empty between the World Wars and shortly thereafter. I enjoyed this, but I recognize it was a weird one.
