Glentauchers 13 - Chivas Distillery Reserve Collection - 58.7%
The Chivas Brothers Distillery Reserve Collection is a limited release of rare and exceptional whiskies.
This 13 year old Glentauchers was distilled in 2007 and bottled at cask strength in 2019 after maturation in a first full sherry butt with a cask number 44490. Only 900 bottles were produced.
Tasting notes
Appearance: Deep chestnut, almost mahogany in colour, forms a thick line which beads before slowly falling as oily legs.
Nose: Rich dried fruit, hazelnuts and a touch of woody oak.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, California raisins, sultanas, mixed nuts, oak spice and a kick of chilli heat. Water brings out more creaminess to the mouthfeel, tones down the chilli spice and brings out a rich, caramel infused note of Medjool dates.
Finish: Long and lingering, sweet dried fruit slowly gives way to astringent woody oak, black liquorice and more of the chilli heat. A little water reduces the heat and astringency, bringing out more of the fruit cake and liquorice notes together with increasing the length of the finish even further.
Overall: I don’t usually buy 50cl bottles but this one really caught my eye on a visit to Strathisla Distillery back in the summer. Glentauchers is one of those Speyside distilleries which flies under the radar as most of their production is for blends although it does crop up in independent bottlings. In this case, to have a chance to get my hands on one bottled by their parent company, Chivas Bros (a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard) proved too tempting.
Although the description only says this was matured in a first fill butt there’s no mistaking the typical Oloroso influence with this one. We’re very much in sherry bomb territory, plenty of Christmas cake notes here with lashings of dried fruit and nuts in evidence.
For me, this is a whisky which really comes to life with the addition of a little water, taking down some of the heat allows the fruit notes to shine through. And that, for me, is the beauty of cask strength whiskies, they allow you to play with the water to find your own personal sweet spot.
