Glenkinchie 12 Year Old

Glenkinchie distillery is located in the glen of the Kinchie Burn, near the village of Pencaitland, East Lothian, about 25 kilometres west of Edinburgh. The name ‘Kinchie’ is probably derived from 'De Quincy', the name of the original owners of the land. It was founded in 1825 by brothers John and George Rate, at the time being known as “Milton Distillery”, and the brothers seem to have renamed it in 1837 to “Glenkinchie”. In 1853 John Rate sold the distillery to a farmer named Christie who turned it into a sawmill. As a consequence the distillery remained silent until 1881 when it was purchased by a consortium from Edinburgh and reconstructed. In 1914 five Lowland distilleries, including Glenkinchie, founded Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD); a little more than a decade later, SMD was bought by Distillers Company Limited. During the Second World War Glenkinchie was one of the few distilleries in Scotland that remained in production. The traditional floor maltings were closed in 1968 and turned into a museum in 1969. The Glenkinchie label was relatively little known until 1988, when United Distillers started marketing it under their Classic Malts brand. The 12-year old expression was first released in 2007 when it replaced the 10-year old version.

The nose is light, fruity, and fragrant: apples, honey, oranges, and a malty sweetness are all there, followed by a touch of white chocolate. All in all rather pleasant and quite elegant.

The palate is light-bodied and a tad peppery. Apples and honey are back, now accompanied by notes of cheesecake and some tannic dryness.

The finish is of medium length, both fruity and grassy, and gets dry towards the end.

I am quite fond of the standard Glenkinchie expression. No rough edges, hardly any complexity, just pleasant and relaxing. Why not? Not every single malt needs to be super intriguing.

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