Once in a while I force myself to buy samples of recent standard releases. I’ll try to find a nice balance with the more expensive stuff, but it’s absolutely true that there are nice value for money drams among the official ranges.
The Glengoyne core range was revised and repackaged a couple of months ago. In Europe this 12 years old expression is the youngest to be bottled at 43% (the younger 10yo is bottled at 40%). The 12 is matured using a mix of first-fill sherry, refill sherry, as well as first-fill bourbon hogsheads, which is a first for this distillery. While the sherry influence may be less obvious than in previous years, it should still be present. It’s chill-filtered.
Glengoyne 12 yo (43%, OB 2012)
Nose: very malty with a lot of caramel sweetness. Sweetened lemon juice and yellow apples. Honey. Hints of hazelnuts. Shows more vanilla after a while.
Mouth: medium weight, sweet and malty again with a creamy, slightly buttery mouthfeel. Toffee and a slightly gingerbread spiciness. Hints of vanilla cake. Some light fruity notes of apple and melon. Some hay and almond paste.
Finish: medium long, simple and sweet.
A pretty good entry-level malt with a bit of everything, yet so balanced that it remains inoffensive. My score was lower on the nose than on the palate, where it shows a few unique touches and really begins to shine. Around € 40.
Score: 82/100