Glenburgie (or Glenburgie-Glenlivet as stated on this bottle) was officially founded in 1829, but like many other distilleries it seems they were active before legalizing their production. The spirit was part of the Ballantine’s blend and the distillery also produced another malt called Glencraig using Lomond stills (an experimental type of still that it said to produce a heavier and oilier end product thanks to a thick column-like neck).
Glenburgie was refurbished in 2004 and is still contributing to Ballantine’s. There is an official single malt bottling of Glenburgie 15 yo 1992 in the Chivas cask strength series. The bottle we’re reviewing here is a 5 year-old distilled in 1965.
Glenburgie 5 yo 1965 (43%, OB 1970, 75cl)
Nose: hints of orange juice. Slightly fragrant notes of coriander seeds and apricots. Develops on sweet yellow apple. Holds the middle between fruity, grassy and mineral notes. Not very complex or expressive but very nice for a 5 year-old, quite old-fashioned and perfectly enjoyable.
Mouth: less sweet than I expected, even a bit weakish. Watery malt in the centre. Big hints of tea, a few woody notes and something vaguely metallic. A peaty / smoky hint in the background?
Finish: long on fragrant apples with a hint of smoke.
Maybe not the most impressive old malt, but still nice as a standard malt from the 1960’s. Auction value around € 150.
Score: 84/100