In the past few years I have participated in some very nice online tasting events. Last wednesday I was part of a tastingpanel on Twitter in which a line up of The Glenturret 2020 Maiden Release was presented. The tasting was organised by Steve Rush and The Glenturret and samples were provided by them. Some fine ingredients for a lovely evening online.
All participants received a very luxurious looking set of samples. You could see by the look of the set that The Lalique Group has its influence in the new path the distillery goes. I’ll use the beautiful glass for water to rinse my mouth inbetween tasting te samples of the Triple Wood, the new 12yo, the 10yo Peat Smoked and the New Make Spirit.
The Glenturret New Make Spirit at 63,5%
Every (good) whisky starts with the distilling of the new make spirit. The quality and style of the spirit form the root from which the whisky groes. In this Tweettasting a sample of new make spirit was included so why not start with it?
- Nose: Mainly there is malted barley and alcohol with a hint of unripe bananas.
- Taste: Surprisingly smooth for the ABV with a warming mouthfeel. A lot of sweet malt sugars here, less fruity then I would have expected.
- Finish: Like the nose and the taste, malted barley sugar and alcohol. It’s quite a lasting finish if you ask me.
- Overall: I do think it’s great to have a taste of the new make spirit but I just like the finished products just a bit more…
The Glenturret Triple Wood bottled at 43%
The Glenturret Triple Wood maiden release was bottled recently. Maturation of the whisky took place European oak sherry butts, American Oak Sherry butts and Bourbon Barrels. Three different types of casks, I wonder how they match up…
- Nose: Soft and sweet with lots of sherrynotes. Some raisins, orange peel and dark chocolate come to mind.
- Taste: A smooth and creamy mouthfeel with just a hint of spice. Again some nice and sweet sherrynotes here.
- Finish: Nice and surprisingly long with a pleasant sherry based taste.
- Overall: A very nice dram concidering the no age statement and the “low” ABV. Well balanced!
The Glenturret 10yo Peat Smoked bottled at 50%
I recently bought a bottle of this one myself. I never had a peated Glenturret before so I was very curious about how the peat would integrate with the Glenturret spirit.
- Nose: Gentle peat smoke with some meaty notes at the start. Later on some red fruits arrive as well as some citrusfruit and caramel.
- Taste: Creamy mouthfeel. Gentle peat in the palate as well accompanied by citrusfruit, caramel and some spices like liquorice root and nutmeg.
- Finish: Nice length with mainly the sweet notes and a hint of peatsmoke in the background.
- Overall: A dangerously drinkable dram! The subtle peat works great with the spirit and the wood.
The Glenturret 12yo bottled at 46%
The Glenturret 12yo Maiden Release was matured in European oak sherry butts, European hogsheads and some undisclosed non-sherry casks before the whisky was recently bottled. This whisky is representing what the Glenturret distillery is all about… Making whisky “By hand and by heart”.
- Nose: Dark chocolate, caramel, Chocotoff, followed by dark fruits and some apples.
- Taste: A slightly spicy start with cloves and nutmeg. Sweet notes dark chocolate, apples and ripe red cherries. Later on a hint of fresh menthol checks in.
- Finish: Nice and long with mainly dark chocolate and a hint of methol.
- Overall: This is a nice dram too but maybe I like the Triple Wood just a little bit more because of the use of the Bourbon barrels…
I would like to thank The Glenturret and Steve Rush for making this tasting happen on Twitter. I’m very happy to have been part of it.
Be sure to read these other reports on the tasting too:
