Tag Archives: Crumpets

An everyday dram, Glenglassaugh, Springtime, Summertime

The Revival of Glenglassaugh!!

Highlands Region – 46%ABV – US price forthcoming but you can pre-order it at Singlemaltsdirect.com for just shy of £36

“Revival” is fitting name for Glenglassaugh’s initial offering of whisky from the newly re-opened distillery.  Many of the details of the make up of this whisky could not be shared.  I do know, however, that there is a mixture of 1st and 2nd fill casks that were then married up in 1st fill sherry butts for 6 months (which adds to the beautiful color that you see to the right and to the flavor of course).  Bottled at 46% ABV, this is a non-chill filtered whisky with zero caramel coloring added.

After many different spirit offerings from Glenglassaugh (on top of Glenglassaugh’s older whisky offerings), Glenglassaugh – under it’s new management – has finally released a 3yo whisky.

Congrats to Stuart, Ronnie and the rest of the team at GlenG!!

Thanks, too, to Ronnie R for both the preview and official samples!!

I’m not sure why but when I hear about a distillery re-opening I imagine those reopening to talk much like this (I know if I were them, I would!):

Glenglassaugh Revival Preview Sample:

On the nose –  Fruity pear jam spread over well buttered crumpets.

Salty brine-like quality.

Baked pears.  The youth of this almost-whisky is apparent but so is the cask influence.

There’s a Rose-ness to this – a semi-dry Rose on a summer day.

There’s a vanilla/creme brulle essence that most certainly came from some bourbon barrels.

On the mouth – Like fresh pear flesh however, this is quite peppery as well.

Warmed butter and unripened stone fruits.

A touch drying along the sides of the tongue.

Finish – Peppery and a bit winey (again, that Rose-like flavor).

Much longer than you’d think given its age.

Glenglassaugh Revival Retail Sample:

On the nose –  Very similar to the pre-release but with less of a salty element to it and more of a fruit element.

More of the Rose-ness here.  However, something I didn’t get on the pre-release are notes of cracked black pepper and some stone fruits like apricot and white flesh peach.

On the mouth – More “present” than the pre-release.  Full of pears and dried apricot.

Peppery and effervescent but also, and this can not be overlooked, VERY sweet with an underlying salty quality and a touch of brown spices that offer up what I find to be a very balanced little dram!

The beauty of the Glenglassaugh spirit and choice of casks really seem to compliment each other.

Finish – Drying and full of dried fruits and fresh, unripened ones.  A lasting peppery finish.

In sum – I’m am very impressed with both of the preview spirit sample and the full-fledged WHISKY sample.  I plan on keeping a bottle of this on the shelf.  It’s a no-brainer whisky that is both challenging (there is a lot to tease out of here) but also, just a nice-nice summer dram.  Kudos to Mr. Stuart Nickerson.  Well done, good sir!

In case you’ve not seen it, I had the good opportunity to interview Stuart Nickerson of Glenglassaugh a while back.  Here’s part one, here’s part two – I greatly enjoyed this interview and I hope you do, too!

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Glenglassaugh, Let's celebrate!

Glenglassaugh 26yr Whisky – 46%ABV

Highland Region – 50%ABV – 750ml (or 700ml outside of the US) – $260 | £150 | €180

After a few days of tasting “spirit drinks”, it’s nice to get onto some actual whisky.  Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed the past three spirits I tasted but, to me, whisky is where it’s at.

Older Glenglassaugh whiskies are, well, old of course, but also very rare and therefore very expensive.  What we have here today, however, is a fairly old Glenglassaugh at a price that’s… not too bad (given the age and rarity of it).  Believe me, I understand $260 | £150 | €180 is A LOT of money for many people (myself included).

Let’s put the money out of our minds for a second and perhaps focus on the whisky itself.  As opposed to their 40yr (that review is forthcoming) and their 30yr expression, this whisky is NOT cask strength.  However, it’s still bottled at the fairly strong ABV of 46%.  Still acceptable, if you ask me (if it were 40%, I may have shuttered a bit but hey, that’s me).

This 26yr old whisky was distilled only 2 years before Glenglassaugh was mothballed back in 1986.  For more history on Glenglassaugh and it’s grand reopening back in 2008, you’ll find links at the bottom of this post to an interview I did with the distillery’s Managing Director, Stuart Nickerson.

Without any further ado, my review:

On the nose – Smells juicy and fruity (think sugared lemonwheels).

Brown paper lunch bags.

Oaky new humidor scent.

The more I nose it, the more prickly on the nose hairs it becomes.

Vanilla and caramels.

More oak but, not over oaked – extremely inviting.

Smoke deep in the background?  Could it be?

On the mouth – Oak and butterscotch.

Buttered cinnamon crumpets (my favorite breakfast treat!).

Such an wonderful balance, very well integrated.

Warmed nuts at a baseball game (on another type of  blog, this statement would mean something quite different).

The mouth feel is pleasant.  Not big and chewy like I prefer but nowhere near like holding water in the mouth.

Finish – Short and nutty with that brown paper bag note I detected in the nose emerging from the palate’s belfry.

In sum – Another celebratory whisky from Glenglassaugh.  Perfect for when the air starts to cool as summer rolls into autumn.  The bottle is both sexy and regal (and can be reused as a decanter).

For Jason of Guid Scotch Drink’s notes, click here.

I recently had the honor and good opportunity to interview Stuart Nickerson (Managing Director of the newly re-opened Glenglassaugh distillery).  If you’ve not yet had a chance to read it, you may want to do so right now. Part 1 & Part 2

Rittenhouse

Rittenhouse Rye 100 Proof

Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey – 50%ABV – 750ml bottle – $20 | £25 | €30

Today I am reviewing one of the more surprising American whiskeys I’ve had to date.  I am normally of the mind set that “if it costs more and is harder to get, the better it is”.  This one breaks the mold for sure (thankfully).

I’ve got here a $20 bottle of kick-ass, high proof, American Straight Rye whisky – Rittenhouse Rye 100 Proof.  Not only is it inexpensive but it’s quite ubiquitous.  You can’t go into a spirit shop (or shoppe) without finding a bottle of this stuff.  And, to me, this is a good thing.

On the nose — Initial few whiffs are very deceiving offering up softer notes of buttered crumpets and dark chocolate.

After nosing is for a bit longer, however, the bite starts to kick in and great vanilla and blueberry notes (yay rye whiskey!) pop as do gingerbread cookies and cinnamon sticks.

A great nose though very stinging (I like that – it lets me know I’m still alive and kicking).

If the ABV weren’t so high I could continue to nose the shit out of this one.

On the mouth — The entry here is soft (yes, even at 50% ABV) and the fluid feels, not tastes, feels like thick Kool-aid drink – take a Kool-Aid packet and add about 10% less water and that’s the feel you get.

Starts off like over-cooked butter then gets earthy.  Fresh soil and crystalized ginger – Oh, this is getting stronger, and stronger – alcohol infused flan – Oh, this is good.

Finish — Long and longer.  Strong and stronger.

In sum — I seriously can not believe that this is only a $20 bottle and was amazed to know that it was named “North American Whiskey of the Year” at the 2006 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and won a World Whisky Award for Best American Whiskey in 2010 — awesome and well deserved.  Another great whiskey from the Heaven Hill family of whiskeys.