I’ve overlooked Glenkinchie so far. An old Glenkinchie 1975 and the Special release from 2016 were certainly excellent but I’ve never been impressed by the more mundane versions.
Let’s give this Glenkinchie 12 Year Old a chance, the flagship bottling which replaced the 10 Year Old around 2007 if I’m not mistaken.
Glenkinchie 12 yo
(43%, OB +/- 2018)
Nose: oh so neutral and grainy. Muesli and plain malt, lots of grasses with some red apple, lemon peel and floral notes. Some fresh oak shavings too. Not much to get excited about.
Mouth: again quite grainy, even a bit harsh actually. More pepper and nutmeg than I expected. Mashy beer notes. Lemons and green apples. Then some vanilla biscuits before it settles on lots of oaky notes, including a greenish bitter edge.
Finish: medium long, spicy, oaky with bitter citrus.
This simply can’t win me over. It’s very grainy and the interesting bits of Lowland character are overtaken by green woody notes. Meh. Available from The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt for instance.
Score: 76/100