Glengoyne 17 Year Old

Glengoyne claims to be the only Scottish distillery to not use peat as fuel to dry its malt. This is the third expression of Glengoyne I've tried - the other being the 10yo, (far too malty and cereal flavoured for my liking) and the 21yo - much better, gentler, softer but pricey. So here we go with one in the middle......

I get a sharp citrussy nose but with some maltiness underneath, (nowhere near as much as with the 10yo thankfully). There is a nuttiness apparent - hazelnuts particularly. Still, this is not as good as I'd hoped for.

The palate is much softer and sweeter than the nose - in fact it's entirely different to what I expected. Primarily we have a toffee-sweet dominance but there are lemon notes too. A very slight note of freshly cut grass also comes through - lemongrass? The mouthfeel thickens as we progress.

Now nosing it again it has become a touch sweeter and fresher. Becoming more interesting as we go on.

Medium-long finish with the citrus/lemon edge dominating.

Vastly superior to the rather rubbish 10yo, but just give it a bit of time if it seems disappointing at first.

This is only a miniature I'm sampling but just seen that a full 70cl bottle costs more than the 21yo!! And now also I've just noticed that the 18yo has replaced the 17yo in the standard range. Perhaps I should have had hung onto it.

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