Glen Garioch 15 Year Old

This 15 Year Old is no longer part of the core range since the overhaul of the brand in 2009. This is a somewhat older bottling at drinking strength. The label still shows the proud stag, which is no longer featured on the new bottles.

The nose is a lot grassier than recent releases. Loads of caramel and heather, but also something that reminds me of rotting fruit. Not bad, but not entirely pleasant either. Good trace of smoke.

It is light and dirty on the tongue, with vanilla, toffee, light honey and even some peat, but little fruit bar some stone fruit like apricots and peach. Oranges if you try really hard. Obvious sherry influence. I get clear hints of cardamom, the queen of the spices. But try as I might, I do not really like this.

The finish is long, with oak and smoke vying for attention.

It is a little too dirty to my taste and shows too little character to really stand out. I much prefer the new 12 Year Old.

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