Glengoyne 25yo Australian launch lunch (Tasted #96 - #102)

A few weeks ago I was asked if I'd like to attend the Australian launch of Glengoyne's latest 25yo expression, at a lunch to be held at Glenguin Estate winery in NSW's Hunter Valley. The 25yo was to be joined in a tasting by the full Glengoyne lineup, presented by Jonathan Scott (Glengoyne's Brand Ambassador) who had made the trip out from Scotland.

Not really a question you say "no" to, is it?

So on a sunny Thursday last week, a small group of whisky fans, media and PR folk boarded a coach bound for Glenguin Estate.

A few hours later we arrived at the picturesque winery, where we pottered around, cameras in hand, capturing photos of the estate and scenery (and one winery dog) while enjoying a few delicious canapés.

I have to admit when I first read the invite, I assumed the Glengoyne / Glenguin connection was by name only, and that DEC PR had found the venue, which just happened to offer a great backdrop, space and food.

Not so.

Turns out the Glenguin / Glengoyne connection goes back to the late 1800s, and in fact "Glengoyne" distillery was known as "Glenguin" until 1908. The full story can be found on the Glengoyne website here, but in short sees a family connection between the two entities that still exists today, and was celebrated in 2010 with the release of a 16yo Glengoyne finished in Glenguin Shiraz casks (20 of which were shipped from Australia to Dumgoyne, where Glengoyne is located just North of Glasgow). Sadly the above bottle sleeve is all that remains of the whisky (at Glenguin, at least) though we're told it was a trademark Glengoyne with berry hints and a very dry, tannic finish as you'd expect from a red wine finished whisky.

After introductions to the friendly chaps from Glenguin, and of course Jonathan from Glengoyne, it was time to taste the Glengoyne lineup:

• Glengoyne 10yo
• Glengoyne 12yo
• Glengoyne 15yo
• Glengoyne 18yo
• Glengoyne 21yo
• Glengoyne Cask Strength
• Glengoyne 25yo

(Just your average Thursday lunch, right?)

After taking our seats (and yes, a few comments were made about the tasting tumblers - though Jonathan from The Whisky Ledger took it upon himself to find us proper tasting glasses for the 25yo) Jonathan (the Scottish one) talked us through the history of Glengoyne ("Valley of the Wild Geese"), touching on the interesting location (technically Highlands, but literally across the road from the Lowlands), ownership history, their "Macallan philosophy" when it comes to wood management, and the six brand philosophies (Tradition, Unpeated, Patience, Oak Casks, Maturation and Natural Colour).

Then it was time to taste...

Glengoyne 10yo (40% ABV, 10yo, Highlands, Scotland, $69.99AUD)
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Colour: Light golden.
Nose: Fresh linen, stewed pears.
Palate: Light initially, then growing in flavour. Apples, pears, some toffee.
Finish: Medium, sweet. Pears and some raw sugar.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 88/100.

Glengoyne 12yo (43% ABV, 12yo, Highlands, Scotland, $79.99AUD)
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Colour: Honied gold.
Nose: Apples, but no pears this time. Coconut. More sherry influence than the 10yo.
Palate: Bigger mouthfeel, more spice, cinnamon, still apples. The extra ABV is welcome.
Finish: Medium length, sharp, spicy / peppery notes.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.

Glengoyne 15yo (43% ABV, 15yo, Highlands, Scotland, $108.99AUD)
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A slight departure from the usual sherried Glengoyne style, with American Oak (we presume ex-Bourbon) aged whisky making up "25-50%" of this.
Colour: Golden amber
Nose: The sherry influence is definitely there, but it's a sweeter, lighter dram.
Palate: Toffee, vanilla, some hints of spice. Light, almost too light.
Finish: Medium to long, with sweet candied orange notes.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.

Glengoyne 18yo (43% ABV, 18yo, Highlands, Scotland, $148.99AUD)
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Colour: Amber
Nose: Ah, now we're talking. Christmas cake, stewed pears and peaches.
Palate: Rich, nutty, with less spice than the previous drams.
Finish: Medium to long, glacé cherries.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100.

Glengoyne 21yo (43% ABV, 21yo, Highlands, Scotland, $219.99AUD)
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Colour: Deep, dark amber, almost copper.
Nose: Dried fruits, Demerara sugar, cinnamon.
Palate: Rich, full, almost too smooth. Liquid toffee.
Finish: Tannins, berries, coconut. Reminiscent of an older Macallan (an 18, or even the new Sienna), but more subtle on the oak and sherry influence.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. Fantastic dram, but needs slightly more on the ABV side of things.

Glengoyne Cask Strength (58.7% ABV, NAS, Highlands, Scotland, $98.99AUD)
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My favourite from the last time I'd tried Glengoyne.
Colour: Golden amber.
Nose: Youthful, but with hints of oak. Also toffee, berries and custard.
Palate: Creamy custard, with nutmeg and cinnamon.
Finish: Long, peppery and spicy.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. Just inches out the 21yo as my favourite so far.

Then it was onto what we'd all come to taste - the 25yo. Given I enjoyed the 21yo, but thought it needed a bit more age, the 25yo at 48% ABV sounded like a winner. Plus, who can argue with 25yo full maturation in first-fill sherry casks, from a distillery who place serious emphasis on their wood selection?

Glengoyne 25yo (48% ABV, 25yo, Highlands, Scotland, $599AUD)
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Colour: Deep, deep rich copper. I'd heard that "light struggles to penetrate it" and I'd heard right.
Nose: Hints of spice and Demerara sugar, with a big toffee hit.
Palate: Beautiful. Liquid dessert. All the elements of the nose, with a thick, syrupy mouthfeel and incredibly smooth. ABV feels spot on.
Finish: Long, sweet, toffee and Christmas cake. Residual Demerara again, with Christmas cake and just a hint of cinnamon at the end.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Truly a magnificent dram, one to savour on its own, after (or even as) dessert.

Any other tasting, and you may well leave at this point feeling suitably content. But no...after all those whiskies, it was time for a beautiful lunch, consisting of:

• Main: Duo of Lamb - Dukkah Crusted Lamb Loin, Lamb Shank Croquette, Smoked Eggplant, Beans, Thyme Jus
• Dessert: Dark Chocolate Delice, Coconut Ice Cream, Cherry Confit 

As a change from whisky (don't worry, we came back to it) we were served a few of the Glenguin Estate wine lineup. Particularly impressive for me was the 2009 "Ironbark" Tannat ($30 AUD), billed as the world's most tannic / dry grape variety. Dry it certainly was, but it also had a fantastic taste. The Aged (2006) Semillon ($30AUD) was also a great wine, though I do love a good Hunter Semillon.

You might think that was enough food and drink for one lunch...but you'd be mistaken. Next up - chocolate pairing! The full list of pairings is included below, but while they were all good, it was those in bold which really impressed me:

• Glengoyne 10YO – Milk chocolate with tablet (34% cocoa content) and cranberry dark chocolate (54% cocoa content)
• Glengoyne 12YO – Ginger dark chocolate
• Glengoyne 15YO – Apricot and Cranberry White chocolate
• Glengoyne 18YO – Banana and Pecan Milk chocolate 
• Glengoyne 21YO – Pistachio Dark chocolate and Ginger Dark chocolate 
• Glengoyne 25YO – Orange and Cardamom Dark chocolate 

(Guess I mixed up the 10yo and 15yo pairing...either way, the 10yo went brilliantly with the white chocolate.)

After chatting to Jonathan a bit more, a few more photos and another dram or two of the 25yo, it was time to bundle ourselves into the coach for the long (and snoozy) trip back to Sydney.

A 10/10 day. A huge thanks are in order to Glengoyne and DEC PR for putting on such a fantastic day, and to Jonathan Scott for making the trip out from Scotland.

Cheers,
 - Martin.

Glen Moray whisky & cheese matching (and launch of 25 Year Old in Australia)

About 6 weeks ago I received an out of the blue (but very welcome) invite to an upcoming Glen Moray tasting at Since I Left You, a small bar in Sydney's CBD. Having only ever tasted Glen Moray in cask-strength SMWS guise (and having enjoyed it) I was keen to try some of their original bottlings. This wasn't just any tasting either - it was a whisky and cheese matched tasting, included Glen Moray's newly released in Australia 25 year old Portwood finish, and was led by distillery manager Graham Coull, who had flown out from Scotland for this event (and Whisky Live). How could I say no?

Arriving at Since I Left You was like walking into a community of bloggers (a gaggle of bloggers? Herd? Flock?) with our good friends and fellow Whisky bloggers D.T.W.C, renowned food and drink blogger Gourmantic and Sydney/Melbourne expert Carrie from Daily Addict all present (as well as a number of other food bloggers). We were greeted with a Highland Fizz cocktail on arrival (a standard but tasty mix of Glen Moray and ginger beer) and had a short while to catch up before the tasting started.

First whisky was the Glen Moray Classic (40% ABV), aged for between 5-9 years. A youthful and lively whisky, with a citrus nose, fruity floral palate and a short finish. The matched cheese was a creamy goats cheese, which drove up the citrus notes in the whisky. Overall a pleasant whisky, and certainly not bad value at its $37 price point. I gave it 87/100.

Graham then took some time to tell us a bit about the distillery (owned by French company La Martiniquaise) and his history with Glen Moray, where he's been manager for the past 8 years. Demand has been big in recent years, with an additional 2 stills soon to be installed. Interestingly, we Aussies are Glen Moray's second biggest market!

The second whisky was the Glen Moray 10yo Chardonnay Cask (40%), which was particularly interesting as it isn't just finished in Chardonnay casks (which themselves are very unique in the Scotch whisky industry), but wholly matured in Chardonnay casks. Whilst I wouldn't go so far to say I noted Chardonnay notes, I definitely noticed tropical pineapple and citrus notes, a smooth, citrusy and slightly oily palate with a slight tang, and a spicy finish. Blue cheese was the match here, which increased the spice and cut through the oily mouthfeel. For a $43 I was hugely impressed. 92/100.

Next was the Glen Moray 12yo (40%), finished in more traditional ex-Bourbon barrels and known as the Glen Moray "house style". There was more complexity on the nose than the Classic here, with stronger oak notes but also toffee. Lemon zest was the dominant characteristic on the palate with a slight nuttiness, and a medium-length finish. The matched parmesan increased the spiciness and nuttiness, and I thought introduced a little bit of cajun spice! A great match. 90/100.

Second last was the Glen Moray 16yo (40%), which showed a nutty nose, rich creamy palate (with hints of fruit) and a medium finish. The matched aged cheddar I thought overtook the whisky - not a bad match, but not spot on like the previous pairing. 91/100

Last up was the one we were all waiting for (see if you can pick it from the 5 whiskies to the right...) - the Glen Moray 25yo Portwood Finish (43%). Laid down in 1986, aged for 23yo in ex-Bourbon barrels, the spirit was then transferred into Portuguese Port barrels for the remaining years. With a dark and rich copper colour, it was clear this was going to be a complex whisky. The nose was sweet - almost with notes of a light sauternes or bortytis. The palate followed this up with a massive hit of sweetness on the tip of the tongue, followed by vanilla (that'll be the 23yo in bourbon then) and sweet madeira notes. The finish went on and on, with continuous waves of delicious sweet notes coming back. Matched with a 36 month aged gruyere, this was an incredible end to the tasting. 94/100.

The 25yo Portwood Finish is limited to 3,482 bottles and retails for $249.99AUD.

Graham (who by the way, was incredibly friendly, jovial and knowledgeable throughout the tasting) then took questions, and told us about a few interesting whiskies we might expect from Glen Moray in the coming years (including their "Peated Spirit"which is now at "legal age" of 3yo), and some more interesting wine-matured whiskies including Chenin Blanc and Burgundy finishes, which are 6-8 years old at the moment (so still have some time to go). Having tasted a few cask strength varieties at Whisky Live Sydney the following night, I really hope Glen Moray decide to release a few of these at their natural strength.

With the formal part of the tasting over, the crowd mingled over additional cocktails and drams of their favourites (for me, the 25yo and Chardonnay Cask). On our way out, everyone was given a take-home bag, including a full bottle of the Chardonnay Cask - my favourite of the night next to the 25yo!

A huge thanks to Glen Moray and DecPR who hosted the event and invited Time for Whisky as a guest.

Cheers, 

 - Martin.