Glenturret 1977/2012 Maltbarn

Even though it can boast the title of being the oldest surviving distillery in Scotland, Glenturret has a slandered reputation with whisky enhusiasts. To most it is nowadays little more than a Potemkin distillery, serving as a tourist forefront to promote the Famous Grouse blend. Just an opinion by posh connoisseurs, or has this distillery truly lost its soul. Let's see what magic the former still masters could make with these Perthshire stills.

Description: Matured in a bourbon cask for 35 years and bottled for the German Independent bottler Maltbarn. The colour is a golden shade of hay and the sample was slightly contaminated as it contained little bits and pieces of cork.

Nose: big, bald and fruity: stewed apples with raisins, a few slices of ripe banana, lavishly poured over with honey. With and underlying layer full of scents from beeswax and vanilla candles, macadamia nuts polished with a menthol edge.

Mouth: A briny body with a fizzing mouth feel: sweet notes from freshly cut pineapple, coconut milk, bitter oak wood and a pepper crust.

Finish: short, lightly drying with lingering pineapple notes.

The Verdict: I dubbed this dram "Majestic" as I was listening to the song by the American rockband Wax Fang. The lyrics don't match the experience, but the spirit perfectly caputures the songs vibrance. An amazing rich and fruity whisky by Maltbarn.

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