Highland Region – Sadly, I do not know the specific cask number on this one. However, I can tell you that this is a from a refill ex-bourbon cask – 50%ABV – £175 for cask # 4703 from The Whisky Exchange. Update — as of 2 hours after posting this review, this bottling (cask #4703 for £175) is now sold out from The Whisky Exchange! Joyal’s in Rhode Island has some (cask not specified) for $154 – scroll toward the bottom of the page for the listing.
GlenWHOgie? Glenugie, that’s WHO!
Glenugie is one of those lesser known distilleries. It was closed in 1983 (like so many other distilleries) so finding Glenugie whisky is… hard. Here’s a quick histories lesson on Glenugie from my friends at Master of Malt:
“The site of the Glenugie distillery is just south of Peterhead, not far from the River Ugie’s convergence with the sea at Scotland’s East Coast. The distillery was built in 1831 by Donald McLeod and Co on the site of a disused windmill. In 1837, a brewery was established at the site and in 1875 the distillery passed through the hands of Highland Distillers Co Ltd who renovated it and subsequently shut down the brewery. Glenugie opened and closed several times, remaining shut for the majority of the First World War. Glenugie was acquired and reopened by Seagar Evans and Co Ltd in 1937, prior to this time it had had a long stint of silence. In 1956, Schenley Industries acquired Seagar Evans and Co and the distillery went through renovations, including the installation of a further two stills and coal power was replaced by an oil burner. In 1971, Seagar Evans was renamed Long John International and four years later the company was sold to Whitbread and Co. The Scotch whisky industry was going through a relative downturn and Glenugie was, sadly, one of many injured parties, closing, as it did, in 1983. Today the site is used by Score Group Plc and engineering company. Official bottlings are, naturally, lacking, but there have been some independent releases of Glenugie single malt whisky.”
There. Now you are smarter than you were a minute ago. You can thank me later (you should thank Master of Malt too).
Onto the tasting…
On the nose – Sweet ribbon candies, flinty and a touch of salt.
Garlic and spiced kumquat.
Say what? Yup, that’s a crazy mix-em-up but, it works nicely!
Grassy notes with a side of peaches in soaked pinot grigio.
After smelling those wine/peach notes, it’s all I can concentrate on.
On the mouth – White wine all the way.
Think slightly effervescent riesling.
Fresh lemongrass and white grape juice.
A slight breadiness to it.
Mostly though, like a high octane fruity sweet white wine.
Finish – Like a mouth full of Pop Rocks – my mouth is fizzing and popping. I better not drink any Coke here (another reason not to mix whisky with soda!!!)
In sum – Refreshing. Pleasing. Summery. It’s that simple (if you’ve got a spare £175 lying around).
Special thanks goes out to Aron Silverman for the sample!