Thanks to a good friend for pouring me this dram
“Hey, want a Glenlossie?”
Silence.
“It was bottled by Maltbarn”
Alright, now we’re talking, where’s my glass?
Yeah, I’m not going hunting for Glenlossie normally. I’m a biased, angry old grump who has reviewed enough Speyside scotches that I am basically a foolish Disney villain ignoring them. Luckily I have good friends who push me out of my comfort zone, less I just drink young affordable Islays all day and scream at children on what I think is my lawn but is actually a soccer field.
Glenlossie 22 1997 Maltbarn is a nicely aged ex-bourbon cask strength Speysider. Simple, to the point. But how does it taste? Let’s see, shall we?
Price: €180
Region: Speyside
Vintage: 1997
Bottled: 2019
Cask type: Bourbon cask
Number of bottles: 161
Abv: 51.2%
Colour: 10Y 9/8
Nose: Pineapple, caramel, lime, honey, cheesecake, nori
Tropical, fruity, lots of cereal and acidity… water really, really helps here, that’s where you get creaminess, well-developed brine, and even more cereal.
Pretty standard. Works well.
Taste: Mineral, cloves, lime, salt, peach, white chocolate
Ok, this is like having a dessert made by a chef. Like Pastry chefs/bakers get the idea that sweets being that idea of a final, crazy sugar-based sweet. Then this chef comes along and says it should be balanced and you know they are right but… I mean, come on, I just want a cookie man, don’t add citrus and umami to it and balance it, it rarely works.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, whisky. So that’s what’s going on here. There’s this strong mineral note, some acidity, but also this strong white chocolate/peach note. It’s being balanced and kinda being weird at the same time.
Finish: Cinnamon, mushroom, cocoa, strawberry, wood shaving
Did I say it was weird before? Maybe I jumped the gun. Before was fun, maybe a bit experimental, like college, or whatever they called that orgy we all went to for a few years. No, the finish is weird. Earth but earth with a bunch of things added.
Like, earth, sweet, and heat? Cinnamon. Earth and vegetal? Mushroom. Earth and sweet? Cocoa. Earth and dry aspects? Wood.
Conclusion: Earthy, weird, and fun. But mostly weird. Though kinda not? If anything, every single time I have Glenlossie, it’s certainly surprising.
This isn’t a whisky I’d typically have. However, if I picked it up, as a whisky nerd, I’d be happy with it. It’s interesting. It’s a subject to discuss. It’s a study in earth. That’s pretty cool.
83/100
Scotch review #1207, Speyside review #342, Whisky Network review #1855
tomoderawhisky.ca 