It’s Monday and a new week started, so let’s start it big with a new Glenturret whisky. I almost visited Glenturret last October, but due to time constraints, it didn’t materialized. Too bad, as I love to see small scale distilleries in action – getting the cozy and personal touch.

As a relatively small distillery,  which is considered as the spiritual home of The Famous Grouse, and I assume most of their production goes toward this blend, they do not provide many official single malt bottlings, with only 10 yo Glenturret as official bottling.

But now, a new semi-official older bottling is here – Glenturret worked together with Hunter Laing to create a (much) older “licensed botling” – a 26 years old whisky, distilled at 1986, aged entirely in bourbon casks, selected and bottled by their Master Distiller Gordon Motion.

So how is this “licensed bottling”?

Hunter Laing Glenturret 1986 26 yo (46.8%, refill bourbon casks, 2400 bottles, buy here for £250)

Nose: Starts with malt and herbal notes. smooth and silky, fruits notes of apples, citrus, also heather honey, gentle sweetness, it’s all very fresh but mellow. With time gets even more flowery and the fruits notes get bouncing from sweet to sour and back like fresh and almost ripe pineapples. It’s a really lovely gentle and settled nose showing its age.

Palate: Starts with apples, waxy notes, smooth and polished oak wood. The notes then get weaken and after some delay bursts back with even more apples, heather honey, herbal/grassy notes, weak mint note is there as well, some spiciness in the form of fresh ginger.

Finish: Medium length, mellow oaky wood lingers, spicy ginger, citrus.

Conclusion: Heck of a dram. Fresh and mellow, clean and delicate. I admit it’s quite expensive but there are no official/licensed older bottlings from Glenturret out there so you pay the premium here, although the premium is quite steep here making it unaffordable to me. I hope this is just the start and hope to see cheaper and more affordable old Glenturret official bottlings. Don’t get me wrong – It’s a good whisky and if the money isn’t issue – get one, you’ll love it.

(Thanks to Hunter Laing & Co for providing me an official sample)