Glentauchers 11 Year Old 2005 Cask Strength

I was fairly certain this came from the same cask as the one I just tried. Distilled and bottled at the same time, by the same bottler, with no mention of cask number or number of bottles. I was under the impression that Hart Brothers bottled half of the sherry butt at drinking strength and the other half at cask strength. I tasted them head-to-head. Immediately I knew different. The are nothing alike.

I would not describe the nose as fruity. It is rather dirty with earthy notes, wood spcies and even something that reminds me of diesel fumes. It takes a while before even an orange or apricot can show itself. This is not love at first sight.

The body is good. Nicely oily, almost syrupy. Immediately lots of dirty sherry influences that remind me more of Kilkerran and Springbank, with a bit of Caol Ila in the mix. This is a very atypical Glentaucher to say the least. The fruit is there, but more as the dried variety now. Some sultanas kick in, but also some shoe polish and chalk. I have pebbles in my mouth. What a surprise.

The finish is nicely long on lots of dirty sherry. It’s the smokiness that makes it stand out of all other Glentauchers I have tried so far. Almost as if this was an Islay cask.

Bizarre Glentauchers to be sure. But what a rollercoaster.

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