Glenburgie from excellent oloroso sherry butts
Christmas is some time behind us, but to commemorate the fun of the holidays, and the whisky I bought then, today this blog. My local retailer always sends me a text when he gets a new batch of this or that whisky, also including the Signatory releases. The 100 proof series have proven themselves by now to be a strong seller. I actually found that the “regular” ones that sell for around 50 euro/pound are just as good as the Exceptional Cask releases that go for a little more, but are still great value. In any case, around Christmas when all work was done, I spoiled myself with the whisky we taste today. Not only because it is a Signatory bottling, but most of all because it is a Glenburgie release. A workhorse distillery of which we do not often see releases, especially no official ones. All the more reason to jump on the chance!
Glenburgie is the distillery that saw life as the Kilnflat Disitllery, all the way back in 1810. Only in 1878 it reopens under the name we know today, although they – like many others – used the adding of Glenlivet. The output has for over a century played an important role in the Ballentine’s blended Scotch and continues to do so to this day, with a production capacity of well over 4 million litres per year. Interesting fact from the history of Glenburgie is that inside this distillery, they used the so-called Lomond stills to create a fruitier, more oily style. At Glenburgie, the malt produced was named after manager Willy Craig, so Glencraig. It has been a while since I last saw one of these weird single malts, the other familiar one being Mosstowie that was produced at Miltonduff. The Lomond still was first installed and used at Inverleven Distillery, part of the Dumbarton complex. This was in 1956. Also, Scapa utilizes a Lomond still, but here it is the wash still, not the spirit still.
Anyway, Glenburgie anyone? Let’s have a taste!
Glenburgie 15 years old, vintage 2008, bottled at 57,1 % abv by Signatory Vintage
First things first: An early bottling in the 100 Proof – Exceptional Cask series, this being Edition # 2. We tasted Edition # 1 here, which was an Aultmore. This Glenburgie was bottled on 25 March 2024 and matured on first fill Oloroso sherry butts.
Upon Sipping: Signatory has these sherry casks that puts a massive apricot imprint on the bottlings. The rather fruity Glenburgie spirit matches well with this style, creating a beautiful hybrid between the distillery style and the cask character. We pick up a strong dash of honey too. Sucking on a Werther’s Original comes to mind, lots of caramel. Fantastic nosing, in short. The taste continues in the same way, perhaps with just a tad too much sharpness from the abv. Nothing a drop of water can’t cure. Water brings out a more floral character in this Glenburgie by Signatory. Fresh red apples, sugar cane. Again, the taste follows in these footsteps, but somehow there also remains a harsh end towards the finish. Maybe a little too much wood at this point. With more sips, it settles, probably because I got used to the abv impact. Drinking whisky, for sure!
Word to the Wise: Good, impressive Glenburgie here, not without some flaws but very complex and entertaining.
Score: 86 points.