Glengoyne

Glengoyne Distillery

  • Founded: 1833
  • Status: Operational
  • Region: Highland, Scotland – Dumgoyne, Glasgow, G63 9LB +44 (0)1360 550 254
  • Online: https://www.glengoyne.com/

History The distillery began distilling in 1833 and was known as the Burnfoot distillery. It was originally owned by George Connell who built the distillery and took out a lease on the surrounding land, on which was built a warehouse which is still in use today. In 1876 the distillery was sold, by Archiball G. MacLellen, to the Lang Brothers who were based in Glasgow. It is stated that the Langs intended to name the distillery Glengoyne, but due to a mistake by a clerk it was recorded as Glen Guin. In 1894, or 1905 it was changed to Glengoyne which comes from ‘Glenguin’ or ‘Glen of the Wild Geese’. The distillery remained with the Lang Brothers until taken over by the Robertson & Baxter Group in 1965, who later became the Edrington Group. In 1966 and 1967 the number of stills was increased from two to three as the distillery underwent a rebuilding project. In 1984 the Lang Brothers became suppliers of whiskies to the then Queen Mother, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s household. The Royal Warrant has since been delegated to Ian Macleod and is featured on all Glengoyne products. In April 2003, Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd. acquired Glengoyne Distillery, and the ‘Glengoyne Single Malt’ and ‘Langs Blended Whisky’ brands. The acquisition of Glengoyne Distillery meant that Ian Macleod became a fully integrated distiller, blender and bottler. Under Ian Macleod, Glengoyne saw a vast increase in output capacity as well as a similar rise in sales. Speaking of the acquisition and planned expansions in 2003, Leonard Russell, managing director for Ian Macleod stated “We’ll be aiming to increase sales of the Glengoyne from the current level of 450,000 litres to one million litres next year”. Later, speaking in 2005 Russell stated “we continue to make whisky exactly the same way at Glengoyne”. The original warehouse built by George Connell is still be found on the site, as the shop and visitor reception area. Today, Glengoyne has eight working warehouses with a total capacity of nearly two million litres (4.5 million bottles) or spirit.

The Whiskyphiles tasting notes

Official Bottling
  • Glengoyne_10YO Glengoyne 10 Years Old (2015) - Glengoyne 10 Years Old (40%, OB, 2015) Highland single malt scotch whisky 40% ABV, £32.33 Score: 83/100 What they say: Fresh green apples, toffee and a hint of nuttiness. This is the […]
  • glengoyne-12-year-old Glengoyne 12 Years Old (2018) - Glengoyne 12 Years Old whisky review: Quite thick and appealing, very malty and with lots of well-established fruit flavours. The sherry adds a little touch of chocolate that along with coconut notes reminded me of Bounty chocolate bars. 84/100
  • Glengoyne 17 Years Old (2015) - Glengoyne 17 Years Old (40%, OB, 2015) Highland single malt scotch whisky 40% ABV, £ Discontinued Score: 85/100 What they say: Glengoyne 17 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky A higher portion […]
  • glengoyne_18_years_old Glengoyne 18 Years Old (2018) - Glengoyne 18 Years Old whisky review: A remarkably mature and well-balanced dram this one reveals itself slowly so demands you slow down and take time over it. Reserved and refined rather than a sherry bomb, 1st fill casks have been used carefully here and countered well with refill influences. 86/100
  • glengoyne-21-year-old Glengoyne 21 Years Old (2018) - Glengoyne 21 Years Old whisky review: A sherry-packed dram with masses of sun-dried fruit and cocoa with just a hint of gentle spices. Comparing against the Teapot dram, the age of the 21 was apparent due to the old/dry and antique woody notes. Comparing with the 18 Year Old this has feels like it has much more 1st fill sherry cask influence. Possibly one of the best value-for-money 21 year old official bottlings available. 90/100
  • glengoyne-21-year-old Glengoyne 21 Years Old (2021) - To paraphrase our last review of this expression "Possibly one of the best value-for-money 21 year old official bottlings available.". Yes, still packed full of 1st fill ex-Sherry cask influenced and well-aged to perfection.
  • Glengoyne25YO Glengoyne 25 Years Old (2014) - Glengoyne 25 Years Old (48%, OB, 2014) 48% ABV, £250 Score: 90/100 What they say: Matured exclusively in hand-selected sherry casks for a quarter of a century, this unique malt is an […]
  • glengoyne-28-year-old-whisky Glengoyne 28 Years Old (2019) - Glengoyne 28 Year Old whisky review: A superbly aged and dark sherried palate to this whisky, full of robust nut, chocolate and coffee elements but still with that soft fruit spirit character underneath. 91/100
  • glengoyne-balbaina-whisky Glengoyne Balbaína (2019) - Glengoyne Balbaína whisky review: Compared to the Cuartillo, this Balbaína expression has a little more woody spice and nuttiness derived from the European oak casks, also presented at 43% has much more body too. 83/100
  • glengoyne-cuartillo-whisky Glengoyne Cuartillo (2019) - Glengoyne Cuartillo Whisky Review: A light and fruity expression similar in many ways to Glengoyne's spirit character, soft and gentle on the palate but with hints of the rich and spicy Oloroso casks also. 80/100
  • glengoyne-the-legacy-series-whisky Glengoyne Legacy Series Chapter 1 (2020) - Glengoyne Legacy Series Chapter 1 whisky review: Wonderfully rich and full of character, plenty of Oloroso sherry cask but a little fruity distillate character still shine through, superb! 89/100
  • glengoyne-px-cask Glengoyne PX Cask Finish (2019) - Glengoyne Pedro Ximénez (PX) Cask Finish whisky review: This PX cask finished is a lot more balanced than I'd hoped and the PX influence is really quite light here for my liking. Zesty, fruity and spicy makes me feel this one has been matured in refill casks first, hence the finishing. Doesn't feel particularly youthfull however - this is quite an accomplished dram with some complexity to boot. 84/100
  • glengoyne-teapot-dram-batch-4-whisky Glengoyne Teapot Dram Batch 4 (2017) - Glengoyne Teapot Dram Batch 4 (58.7%, OB, 3178 Bottles, 2015) Category: Highland single malt Scotch Whisky Origin: Glengoyne distillery Bottling: Ian Macleod ABV: 58.7% Cost: £90 What they say: Glengoyne Teapot Dram Deliberately young […]
  • Glengoyne Teapot Dram Batch No. 006 Glengoyne Teapot Dram Batch 6 (2018) - Glengoyne Teapot Dram Batch 6 whisky review: Another fantastic Sherry Bomb, during the tasting we sampled this alongside Glengoyne 21 Year Old expression which really highlighted the new oak wood and fresh fruit character of the Teapot Dram. Youthfulll and exuberant but with masses of sherry-influenced flavour and characteristic Glengoyne fruity spirit. Many at the tasting were convinced that this 6th edition was as good as the 1st if not better. 91/100
  • teapot_dram-7 Glengoyne Teapot Dram Batch 7 (2020) - Glengoyne Teapot Dram Batch 7 whisky review: Spicy, which I'm not a huge fan of - but I can appreciate here. European oak influence in abundance, young and vibrant and very sherried. Carries a nice tannic/chewy rancio-like quality. Probably not my favourite of the Teapot drams I have tried so far but very worthy of the name. 89/100
Independent Bottling
Scotch Malt Whisky Society
  • Scotch Malt Whisky Society SMWS 123.11 The big bang theory (2015) - Glengoyne 9 Years Old 2005 123.11 The big bang theory (57%, SMWS, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel, 231 Bottles, 2014) Highland single malt scotch whisky 57% ABV, £44.00 Score: 84/100 What they say: […]
  • Scotch Malt Whisky Society SMWS 123.12 Treasure hunt (2015) - Glengoyne 12 Years Old 2001 123.12 Treasure hunt (57.6%, SMWS, Refill Bourbon HH, 267 Bottles, 2014) Highland single malt scotch whisky 57.6% ABV, £46.10 for 70cl available from Score: 85/100 What they […]
That Boutique-Y Whisky Company
  • glengoyne-17-year-old-that-boutiquey-whisky-company-whisky Glengoyne 17 Years Old Batch 1 (2019) - Glengoyne 17 Years Old Batch #1 whisky review: A very classy dram with a polished and subtle sherry influence that still lets the natural fruitiness of the Glengoyne spirit shine through. 89/100