Tasting: Glen Elgin 26y 1980-2007 for The Scots Whisky Forum

Glen Elgin 1980 26 yearsDram data:
Distillery: Glen Elgin
Bottler: Scotch Single Malt Circle for Scots Whisky Forum, Collection No. 4
Distilled: 12.1980
Bottled: 06.2007
Age: 26 years
Limitation: 111 bottles
Casks: –
Alcohol: 47,8%
unchillfiltered; natural colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour:
Copper
The nose opens rather dark and moody, driven by active wood. It doesn’t say on the label but I’m going with European Oak (possibly 2nd fill with a not too long previous fill). Old oak spices, like licking an old cabinet from the room of a heavy smoker. This isn’t peated whisky, but oak can impart smoky smelling flavours, that’s the case here. Old leather couch, hay, roasted nuts, roast malt, dark toffee and caramel chocolate paired with the sweetness of a dark chocolate bar. The palate is quite mellow and quaffable thanks to the relatively low natural ABV. Creamy, slightly oily, nutty (walnuts and brazil nuts), cocoa, malt extract, caramel, a grassy bitterness, subdued orange oil and liquorice. Noticeable oakiness but no tannins at all. The long finish starts out with an initial kick of slightly bitter spices, oxidised orange peel and caramelised ginger, fading to a lasting combination of malt and oak.

Verdict:
You don’t encounter many whiskies with such a flavour profile these days. Have they all been sold or got lost with improved wood management? A very malty distillate meets an active cask to create a well-aged, moody, almost dirty whisky. Don’t get your hopes up finding a bottle, not many were drawn from the cask some 8 years ago – I brought home a sample of this from the Munich Finest Spirits festival.

Score: 87/100
(Nose: 88 Palate: 87 Finish: 87)

Share this post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Cookie Consent with Real Cookie Banner