Glen Elgin 1996 13yo Signatory UCF virgin oak barrel 2339

Glen Elgin’s Speyside distillery had quite a difficult start, with problems from the very start. It was the last distillery to be built in Speyside before the infamous Pattison Crash. After that episode it closed again several times: during WWII, in 1992 and 1995. Today, Glen Elgin is paret of Diageo’s ‘Elgin Group’, together with Linkwood, Glenlossie and Mannochmore. It is still the signature malt in the White Horse blend.

This is an 11 year old single cask (a virgin oak barrel), distilled in 1996 and bottled, un chill filtered, in 2007. The whisky’s strength was reduced to 46%.

The nose is very fresh and fruity with pears on syrup, vanilla pudding and white chocolate. It’s very clean, but devoid of complexity. The nose does not develop any further, even though it’s quite pleasant.

The attack is fairly spicy (white pepper from the virgin oak), but not at all as sweet as the nose. The typical Speyside character is replaced by grassy notes and a bitter after taste.

The finish lingers but is grainy, bitter and… in all honesty… boring.

Terrific nose, interesting development in the mouts, but the finish leaves a lot to be desired.

Find where to buy Glen Elgin whisky