As you may know, Glenglassaugh was mothballed in 1986. In 2008 the distillery was bought by the Scaent group and the stills were fired again. Scaent also bottled the first 30 Year Old in a rectangular decanter (55,1%). In 2013 Glenglassaugh was sold on to the owners of BenRiach / GlenDronach, who bottled this 30 Years again in the typical tear drop bottle. Just recently it was brought down to 42%.
If you do the math, 2016 – 30 brings us back to 1986. That means it’s probably one of the last Glenglassaugh 30 Year Old they can do, unless they’re prepared to sacrifice older casks.
I’m not sure about this version, but previous ones were composed from first-fill Oloroso sherry butts.
Glenglassaugh 30 yo
(42%, OB 2015)
Glenglassaugh 30 yoNose: quite sherried, somehow more than I expected. Toffee apples and fruit cake. Hints of cedar oak. A fruity background of oranges and apricots, maybe just a hint of mango. Also raisins. Beeswax, light leather and light spices. Very good, almost a cognac-style whisky, and a nice mix of the typical tropical fruitiness and more heavyweight sherry.
Mouth: sweet and spicy, lots of orange peel and raisins but also a leathery, oaky dryness and candied ginger. A hint of cough syrup in the background. Some resinous notes. Dark chocolate. Liquorice roots. Not a sherry bomb, but not a tropical fruit bomb either.
Finish: medium long, still on cocoa nibs, cinnamon powder and some oak tannins.
A very good one – still available but we’ll be missing it if they decide to phase it out because of lowering stocks. Around € 275 but prices seem to vary as you’ll find different batches on offer.
Score: 90/100