Glen Garioch
- OWNER: BEAM SUNTORY
- FOUNDED: 1797
- REGION: HIGHLANDS
- PRONUNCIATION: Glen GEAR-ick
Licensed in 1785, Glen Garioch is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, if not the oldest (like a lot of scotch history, it’s a matter of debate). It is one of the few malt distilleries—Bruichladdich is another—that only sells a single malt; none of its output goes into blends (though Glen Garioch used to be a main component in Sanderson’s Vat 69 blend). During the inflation and fuel-crisis era of the 1970s, the distillery made extra money by using its waste heat to warm several greenhouses, whose produce it then sold.
Glen Garioch
1797 Founder’s Reserve
Non-age-statement, aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.
- PRICE $ · RATING
- AGE No age statement
- ALC/VOL 48%
- NOSE Butterscotch, green apples, white pepper, vanilla cream, cherry juice, and a slight salinity; water turns the green apples red, adding loamy oakiness.
- PALATE Ginger, cherry cola, vanilla, and a mid-palate citrus hit; water doesn’t do much. The finish is long and ginger-spicy.
- GENERAL A pleasant but generic drink; no harm in making it an everyday pour, but there are cheaper, more interesting options.
Aged 12 Years
Aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.
- PRICE $$ · RATING
- AGE 12 years old
- ALC/VOL 48%
- NOSE Vanilla, raisin, fresh ginger, freshly sawn cedar, and tropical coconut; water adds rum raisin and more vanilla.
- PALATE Full and round, with coconut, ginger, spicy mango, butterscotch, and orange zest; water brings out biscuit and tobacco. The finish is long, semi-dry, and spicy, with black pepper and ginger.
- GENERAL A huge step up from the Founder’s Reserve—spicy and tropical, with intriguing depth, especially after adding a bit of water. A good introduction to the Highland style.
Glen Garioch
Virgin Oak
Aged exclusively in new American oak barrels for an undisclosed period of time.
- PRICE $$$ · RATING
- AGE No age statement
- ALC/VOL 48%
- NOSE Not surprisingly, big, hot vanilla hit up front, then sawn cedar, grain mash, lemon water, and cardboard; with water you get even more wood and grain, along with stewed potato and cocoa powder.
- PALATE Medium mouthfeel, with loads and loads of grain notes, along with cedar and chocolate-covered cherries. It turns even grainier with water; there are nuts and fruit juice as well. The finish shows vanilla and pepper.
- GENERAL Pronounced aroma and palate, as you’d expect from new oak, but there’s too much grain at the opening. It integrates as it evolves. Tastes very much like a craft bourbon.