Glen Gyle 8 YO

Glen Gyle 8 YO, 40 %

I have tasted a strange whisky again, and I will now share my experience with you, dear reader. This whisky has nothing to do with the Glengyle distillery of Campbeltown (making the Kilkerran single malt whisky). No, no, this is a blended malt from the Loch Lomond Distillery Co. Although, on the bottle it says Fraser MacDonald Distillery Co.

Apparently Loch Lomond Distillery Co. did not want to sell the name 'Glen Gyle' to Springbank, when the Sprinbankians decided to revive the old Glengyle distillery in 2002. More on this naming business over at The Whiskey Jug.

I have no idea where you can buy this, but I imagine it is not priced as a top-shelf whisky.

Nose: Quite good. Well, that's my first thought. Fine balance between warm spices (cinnamon and nutmeg), rich maltiness, bananas and a caramel sweetness that is on the dry side.

Taste: Medium body with a little bit of a rough side. Some spices; white pepper, cinnamon and ginger. Some fruits; apples and banana. A bit fizzy in character.

Finish: Medium to short, well leaning heavily towards short, finish. It is dead as a dodo in the first act. The sweetness is stripped away first, leaving the spices. Then a touch of oaky bitterness and something metallic is added, before it all turns a bit watery.

Comments: Absolutely nothing wrong with this.

Score (76/100)

Thanks to Tone for the sample and the bottle image.

Sláinte! - Thomas