24 drams till Christmas tasting #13: Glenturret 2001 – 2015 by G&M

Dram data:
Distillery: Glenturret
Bottler: Gordon & Macphail
Distilled: 2001
Bottled: 23.09.2015
Age: ca. 14 years
Limitation: –
Casks: sherry casks
Alcohol: 43%
(most likely)chill filtered; natural colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
The nose is unmistakably sherry influenced – there’s no mention about the casks being used on the label so we can only guess, but it’s a safe bet! The vanilla does point into the direction of either American oak sherry casks or a second maturation. Type of sherry? Could be a sweet Oloroso or a PX. So, we’ve got sweet-ish sherry notes, vanilla, ripe cherries, raisins, condensed orange juice, caramel, hints of toffee, wax and just slight spices – more like ginger than European oak oriental spices.

No oaky notes. A very likeable, contemporary, light-ish, vanilla-influenced whisky style, smooth-edged and tuned to be pleasing, but, dare I say it, a tad interchangeable – lots of distilleries can produce this style. On the palate the 43% bottling strength taste more like 40% initially, perhaps a tad overdone with the dilution. I expected a bit more from what looks like very fresh casks (maybe a finish after all?). Diluted (dry-fruity) sherry with vanilla, cocoa and coffee beans, dark chocolate, sugar-free toffee (what?), grapefruit peel and highly diluted raisin syrup. The medium-long finish offers a mixture of dryness and dark fruits upon swallowing with a more pronounced chocolate note as time passes.

Verdict:
Independently bottled Glenturret is not a common sight – the distillery (Scotland’s oldest, so they say) is one of the smallest and the output is a component in the Famous Grouse blend, so not many casks end up on the market. This roughly 14 year-old version by Gordon and Macphail certainly is a nicely sherried and highly quaffable dram without any edges, yet a tad generic and “pleasing” with a very modern style. That’s not a fault, just an observation! I just wish I could taste this at cask strength…

Score: 82/100
(Nose: 84 Palate: 82 Finish: 82)