So this distiller was bought and left dormant for near 100 years. However once 2008 happened there was a turn, and now that it’s been a while enough time has passed to to make an actual scotch. This comes as a ‘revival’ of the distillery, but in short it can;t be ignored for being just another single malt scotch whisky.
Overall while we enjoy the contribution to the lounge with this scotch – there is no buy-in to the overall. This scotch is better fresh and not shown via upgrades. Aside from that though – not much else. That means at the end of the day this is no more thatn just an average whisky.
What they Say: “Glenglassaugh distillery, standing on the Moray Firth coast at the edge of Sandend Bay, is a distillery which lay silent and forgotten for over two decades. Its heritage stretches back to 1875 and the distinictive fruity character of its whisky is loved by all who discover it. After being mothballed for over 20 years, production was restarted in 2008. The first whisky from this refurbished distillery is now available to single malt scotch whisky lovers everywhere.
Glenglassaugh “Revival” is a distinctive Highland Single Scotch whisky produced using only the finest ingredients and bottled without the use of added colouring and without chill-filtration.
Colour: Copper – Nose: Sweet caramel and toffee, with notes of nutty sherry, milk chocolate, honey, ripe plums, red berries and oranges, caramalised sugar, and earthy charred oak. Palate: Sweet, rounded and creamy. Flavors of oranges, plums, cherries, walnuts, chocolate, Sherry and spiced oak. Finish: Medium with warming mulled-wine spices, Sherry and caramel. ”
Taste: 7.0 – If you thought by the aroma this was not a scotch, prepare to be proven wrong. I’m not sure where they get that laundry list of ingredients, but make no mistake this is tasty. It does rely heavily on an almost peat and mint like combo, but there’s smoke and complexity here.
Aftertaste: 5.0 – It then kicks you in the goddamn teeth, and you again get some almost mint-like qualities. However the power of the whisky is the main component – which isn’t exactly a good thing.
Burn/Smooth: 3.5 – This could only be described as smooth due to the minty flavor, and if you said it was your girlfriend punching you during sex. Otherwise in reality, it’s simply not a smooth whisky, and doesn’t give a good warmth.
Aroma: 3.5 – This smells atlmost like a spiced rum. That is a terribly bad sign here. None of this smells like scotch. It’s not offensive, just wrong.
Honesty: 6.0 –The box and the bottle are on point, the text is verbose but not overly wanky. My main complaint is that if you are bringing a distillery back from the dead ‘sort of’ don’t do sherry cask even it’s cheap. This needed to be a fuller, more mellowed flavor, and that could have been easily do-able.
Mixability: 5.0
W/ Rocks: 5.0 – It combos the taste and aftertaste into a form that I can only call ‘a storm’. It has power, (maybe too much), some complexity, and overall a distinctive taste. However it’s not a great tasting whisky at this level.
Value: 4.0 – The problem here is that this doesn’t do well neat or on rocks. Overall it’s quite good, but since it doesn’t shine in one area, and is overall a general sort of good – it could be better. Then you look at the price of what you can get, and it falls far short.
Google Shop Average: $63
Website: http://www.glenglassaugh.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 5.0
Want to compare this spirit against our archives? Visit our statistics page.
Metric Score: 34/70 |+| Metric Average: 4.86 |+| Reviewer Average: 5.0
New to Honest Booze Reviews, or just wondering how we score? See our FAQ/Review Policy.
Final Thoughts: Another gift to the lounge, (sorry it’s mostly scotch, but hey it works). There will be some tequila reviews upcoming, but this is still a relevant scotch. It simply costs too much though to be a great scotch, which is kind of sad,.
