Whisky Review – Glenburgie 19 y/o 1995 (cask 6461) (Signatory)
Glenburgie was one of the first distilleries we were introduced to in our journey into the deep, dark world of whisky. We went looking for a birthday present, and were recommended the Gordon & Macphail Glenburige 21 y/o – we were not disappointed! That being said we have tasted far less of their single-malts over the last few months (unsurprising given their predominance for use in blends). So we were excited at the opportunity to try this older single-malt, single-cask expression.
Glenburgie Distillery …
Founded in Speyside in 1810 under the name, they started production in 1829 under the Kilnflat name. As with many of the older Scotch distilleries, they have a colour history including multiple owners and closures. Purchased by Ballantines in 1936, in more recent years their spirit has been a core part of the blend for Ballantines and Old Smuggler brands. Single malt expressions from Glenburgie are currently quite rare.
Signatory …
Founded in 1988 by Andrew and Brian Symington, Signatory is now one of the largest independent bottlers in the market. They are best known for their Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky bottlings. Their collections include: cask strength, un-chill filtered, and single grain.
Tasting Notes …
Glenburgie 19 y/o 1995 (cask 6461) (Signatory) – 43% ABV
Bottled in 2014, this whisky was distilled in June 1995 (when we were just a handful of months old!) and spent 19 years maturing in a single hogshead cask. Only 453 bottles were produced; we’re not entirely sure how we ended up with a sample all this time later. The sample bottle had clearly seen better days, with information scrubbed off the label and some questionable wax topping.
Nose: lots of honey, quite floral, cider notes, orchard fruits, malty, creamy porridge, elements of pear, cooked apple, icing sugar, vanilla – not a particularly complex nose
Palate: quite creamy, lovely mouthfeel, blackberry and apple crumble, vanilla ice cream, honey
Finish: blackcurrant menthol, burnt toffee, top of a creme brûlée
A very interesting dram, quite familiar on the nose however the palate and finish are very different. The mouth feel is fantastic and creamy, coating the palate in what felt like silk it’s great. The blackberry and apple crumble notes come through and then on the finish the blackcurrant then takes over and has some resemblance to a menthol sweet. Overall a nice dram.
We really enjoy trying older expressions from distilleries. This certainly didn’t let us down and with the fruit notes balanced with a great mouth feel and some familiar nose notes we will certainly be keeping our eyes open for more single-malt Glenburgie expressions. Do you have any favourite single-malts from distilleries that typically end up in blended whisky?
The Dram Duo 