Glentauchers 1991 Distillery Labels (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, 2010)

• Glentauchers Distillery
• Gordon & MacPhail
• 43% ABV,
• RRP £42.99 for 70cl
• Score 89/100

What they say:

Gordon & MacPhail

“Located in the north-east of Scotland in the heart of the world famous whisky producing region of Speyside, Gordon & MacPhail is an independent family owned and managed firm which has been bottling Single Malt Whiskies for over 118 years.

From its humble beginnings as a retailer, Gordon and MacPhail has grown to become a diverse and dynamic company with a number of different business interests. Today the company is a retailer, wholesaler, exporter, bottler of Single Malt Scotch Whisky and distiller, owning Benromach Distillery in Forres.”

What I say:

Impulse buy from Dobbies garden centre farm shop. For some reason they decided to put this on offer for a couple of weeks at £24.99! I can only assume they had it on the shelf for a long time and nobody was buying and they wanted to get rid of it? I have to admit I hadn’t heard of Glentauchers or had any idea what they produced. Also G&M –  due to the box I couldn’t see this was bottled in 2010, only that it was distilled in 1991, so I thought at first this was the 16 year old which comes in an identical bottle: http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/glentauchers-1991-whisky/

Imagine my surprise when I got it home to find it had aged another 3 years! Anyway, Glentauchers has a typically interesting history like most speyside distilleries. Pretty much unheard of as most of its output went for blending, it has been owned by most major operators at one time or another, with the most recent transition being between Caledonian Malt Whisky Distillers (a subsidiary of Allied Distillers) to Pernod Ricard. Interestingly the Distillery was mothballed between 1985 and 1992, so I can only assume that the 1991 vintages that Gordon & MacPhail have released were produced as part of the routine turnover distillates to check all was still in order before production began again in earnest in 1992.

This is an amazing example of an aged speyside whisky, likely matured in refill bourbon barrels [at a guess]. The age gives it a little dryness and oakiness to the finish that makes you want to go back and sip some more. I still can’t believe what a bargain this was!

Colour:

Gold.

Nose:

Peach and apple honey.

Flavour:

Apples, vanilla, coconut, sweet honeycomb and toffee lead to drying oak and cereal.

Finish:

Dry with more apples, candied peel and oak.

Would I buy it again:

I think Glentauchers is now on my radar and I would love to try more examples and expressions. I hope that Pernod Ricard haven’t changed much since their ownership in terms of how the spirit is produced. A sherry finish or maturation would be simply mouth-watering…, however for now I will keep enjoying this one for as long as it lasts.