Glengoyne 30 YO

Glengoyne 30 YO, 46.8 %

This is the ultimate expression in the Glengoyne core range. The Glengoyne 30 YO is matured using 1/3 1st fill European oak sherry butts and 2/3 refill sherry butts.

A new batch is (supposed to be?) released each year, in a limited run of 6 000 bottles. This is a vatting of 13 casks.

You can buy a bottle of the Glengoyne 30 YO at around GBP 496.

Nose: Ooh, welcome to the dark side. This is a sherry bomb with a clear agenda, and the agenda is to seduce. Red berries, raisins, mahogany, honey, polish, old Chesterfield chairs, plums and dried herbs.

Taste: Filthy rich, - well, in a good way! Full-bodied like a sumo wrestler, but that's where that particular comparison ends. Massive sherry notes still, but rather than playing the deep bass, this whisky plays more in the midrange with the occasional touch of treble. Plums, demerara sugar, rum notes, nuts and oaky spices.

Finish: Long finish - thankfully! Continues as it started. The oak is a bit more present now, but works as a solid base. The final sugary notes feel likely to take up permanent residence.

Comments: Wonderfully rich, well-balanced and just sublime.

Score (93/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas