Glen Garioch 16: The Renaissance – Chapter 2

Update: Upon re-reviewing this whisky, I have found out I was given chapter 2 instead of 1. Apologies for any confusion.

Ended up at an old pub that was re-built after having burnt down in 1916 during the ill-fated rebellion on the green. In Dublin, as opposed to the green rebellions that may have happened elsewhere that year.

And while I’ve been sticking to Irish whiskey, because, well… duh, I’m in Ireland. However I saw a bottle that I’d never seen before.

(Also they didn’t have the original whiskey I asked for)

Glen Garioch 16: The Renaissance – Chapter 2 is the second in a four part series from Glen Garioch. And you may be asking “Are they fans of the enlightenment and it’s various teachings that helped shape the world into the wonderful place it is today”? And I’d say… well, no. Different Renaissance.

You see, in 1997 Glen Garioch “reawakened” their distillery. As in they closed down and made some serious changes. Prior to that they used smoked barley, had a different profile, etc, etc.

So if my math is correct, a four part series that starts at 15 years goes to 18 years (based on the assumption they go up 1 year per chapter), that would mean these barrels were made around the time the distillery popped back up. Thus this is purely the new flavour, at cask strength, the way that Maud intended.

So I ordered it. And found out that they didn’t have any glencairns because… reasons. And those reasons is they were used as decorations in the tables rather than for drinks.

Sigh.

Let’s see how this tastes, shall we?

Price: $144.95 CAD at the LCBO

Region: Highland

Number of bottles: 12,000

Cask Types: ex-Bourbon and ex-sherry casks

Abv: 51.4%

Colour: 5YR 7/10

Nose: Cinnamon, pineapple carrot cake, light brown sugar, heather, lemon pudding, cherry blossom

Quite spicy. Good amount of cinnamon up front. Also it’s filled with all those cakes that you wish the bakery would make but they banned you after too many emails with the words “like mom used to make” and they think you’re too “Bates-esque” to come around.

Nice balance of sweet, floral elements, and complexity.

Taste: Brown sugar, pineapple, honeydew melon, carrot juice, caramel

More of the nose, though a little less complex. Good combination of flavours still.

Though no flowers anymore. It stops being floral, which is sad, because who doesn’t like getting flowers?

Just made myself sad.

Finish: Orange, cinnamon, wood, thyme, cloves, caramelized ginger

More orange and cinnamon, with some wood. It’s slowly going to it’s base parts as time goes on. While this still works at the end, it’s a lot of spice, more wood, and citrus.

Conclusion: A nice dram with a bonkers nose, an okay taste, and an okay (if simpler) finish.

If you pick this up, you’re going to find the nose to be great, and then the taste and finish don’t live up to it. They’d don’t completely lose their charm, but it’s hard to go from this amazing baked goods to fruits and caramel.

And that’s not bad, and there aren’t parts that are bad, per say. A little wood at the finish, maybe, but that’s not enough to annoy me. I really wish they could have continued on the complexity. That would have made this amazing. As it stands, it’s just pretty good.

83/100

Scotch review #627, Highland review #107, Whisky Network review #1059