Thanks to /u/throzen for sharing this dram.
Glenturret, turns out, comes in peated and unpeated.
I came to the Glenturret party somewhat late. I’d be lying if it wasn’t partially due to the only place recommending it was a weeaboo who read about it in a manga. And while I’m not completely throwing the baby out with the bath water, I’ve had some bad times with weeaboos saying things more than good times.
Once I finally tried it, I get it: Tropical fruit, nice highland, goes well with ex-sherry and takes age quite nicely.
So here we are, a few more Glenturret’s in, and we’re gonna have a bit of fun. Up first is the typically Glenturret I run into: Good amount of age, independently bottled. Note it’s ex-bourbon cask, so that’s a bit different, but otherwise we’re the same. That’s Glenturret 30 1986 The Cooper’s Choice.
Then we’re gonna go in the total opposite direction: Glenturret Hydra II 7 Peated Port Pipe Scotch Universe. Peated malt, younger by many years, and aged in a port pipe. I’ve never had a peated Glenturret so I’m excited for this.
Let’s see how they compare, shall we?
Glenturret 30 1986 The Cooper’s Choice
Price: € 199.00
Region: Highland
Vintage: 12.1986
Bottled: 2017
Cask Type: Bourbon Cask
Cask number: 343
No. of bottles: 240
Abv: 46.8%
Colour: 5Y 8/8
Nose: Pineapple, crème brulee, fresh grapefruit juice, flora
Kinda buried the lead above, but yeah: Fruity, tropical notes, slightly floral, and some lovely custard/burnt notes.
Lighter nose. Takes some time to grow on you. Really fruity and acidic. I liked it more as time goes on, but make sure this is at the start of your tasting.
Taste: Grapefruit, crème brulee, guava, lime, lemon
More acidity, more custard and burnt bits. If anything the tropical here is overshadowed by more and more of the grapefruit going on.
In other words: I wanted more guava that typically shows up in these older Glenturrets.
Finish: Ginger, orange, apple, cinnamon, earth, lime
And we’ve basically gotten rid of any tropical and finished with a ton of variations on fruit but all from my backyard. And that’s not bad if there’s other things going on. Like there’s a Bruichladdich out there that’s amazing from the DNA collection that does just that. But it does that and brine and leather and herbal. This is that but some spice on the side and some generic, not-to-developed earth.
Yeah, I’m a snob, let’s move on.
Conclusion: Would prefer a bit more tropical. Think I like them with sherry casks over ex-bourbon casks. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad whisky though. It’s certainly tasty, fruity, spicy with some buttery notes.
That said it kinda coasts on that. Like if you pour this and it’s 18-years-old then yeah, good job. But, like people, we expect more by 30. You really shouldn’t have 0 hobbies and no career and no family and no pets and you can’t really cook at 30.
This is similar. Nice personality, but nothing they can talk about after that. Needs to do something other than watching the Bachelorette.
83/100
Glenturret Hydra II 7 Peated Port Pipe Scotch Universe
Price: € 73.90
Region: Highland
Vintage: 2010
Bottled: 2019
Cask type: 1st Fill Ruby Port Wine Barrique
Abv: 63.2%
Colour: 5YR ⅜
Nose: Coal, peat, plum, cinnamon, purple soap
Earthier smoke followed by spice, fruit and… soap? Weird. Like somewhere between tropical and fake tropical forbidden bathroom food vibes.
No brine here. Think Speyside/Highland peated whiskies versus Islay ones with that saltiness.
Taste: Cinnamon, orange/plum, graham cracker, malt
Peat is more of that earthy spice now. More port fruit notes, cereal, though more maltiness is now coming through.
So basically peat and port is working nicely again, no one is surprised because we’ve all had fruit and spice mixed together and those of us with happiness in our lives identify how tasty it is.
Finish: Orange, cinnamon, fudge, brine, lime
Big buttery, dank, sweet notes sets this apart from the taste. Fudge people, it’s what’s for breakfast if you’ve given up. Or it’s your vacation.
Bright acidity balances out the heavier notes, and we actually have a bit of salt at the end. Which I’m guessing means they probably sourced the malt from Islay. Or it just happens to have some brine to it.
Conclusion: Fun, want one with a few more years. Also, the soap throws me right off. It’s one of the first major complex notes you notice and it’ll really take some air out of your tires.
The rest is spice and fruit, with a really good fudge-y note on the finish. As it stands it’s a decent port/peat whisky. Nothing goes well above that, and if you served me this blind, I couldn’t tell you it was Glenturret. I’d like to see what they do with some more years and customization. Let’s do more of these, okay Glenturret?
82/100
Scotch review #1351-52, Highland review #222-3, Whisky Network review #2023-4
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