Generally, I consider Glen Elgin to be a nice and gentle whisky, with fruity notes and some nice freshness to it. In the back of my sample cupboard I found this 15 year old (or 16) from Gordon & MacPhail that I got from the bottler years ago. Seven years, likely.

These random sample bottles are great for on holiday, since I don’t intend to reuse to bottles and I can finish them in one go. A nice clean-up session, if you will.

So, a very renowned bottler bottling something from sherry casks, at a reasonable age. Sounds good, right?

Sniff:
Lots of grain and sweeter citrus fruits. Dusty barley with a dusting of oak sawdust. Orchard fruits with a slightly bitter hint of apple seeds.

Sip:
Barley, cracked black pepper corns, dry oak. Some lemon, the pulp, the seeds and the pith. Dry, old apples, red citrus, oak.

Swallow:
The finish is very similar to the palate with the balance between fruit, spice and oak being very well done.

I didn’t get any of the sherry cask notes I was expected. However, I liked this whisky anyway. It has the expected fruity notes, some bitter notes and quite some oak influence. A combination of flavors that work well.

It’s still available for some € 115, which isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s also an older bottling. I do expect, though, that you can get this profile from Glen Elgin a bit cheaper.

87/100

Thanks to G&M for the sample, and sorry for the ridiculously late review…