Glenburgie 8 Year Old Gordon & Macphail

Glenburgie is not a dram that is top of mind, for it is hardly put out as a single malt by the owners. The create this malt especially for blending, with Ballantine’s as the main client. One of the few semi-official bottings is this 8 Year Old by Gordon & Macphail, which by now is getting hard to come by.

This is textbook Speyside on the nose: soft, sweet, accessibe. Oranges, heather honey, fruity sweetness and some pastry. Apricot pie. Nice, but not demanding. Nothing wrong with that on a Sunday afternoon, right?

It is fairly creamy and soft on the spice. Again quite some oranges and apricots, some nutmeg and cinnamon, lime juice and almonds Then suddenly some smoke kicks in and it really seems to be more peat than woodsmoke. Could it be? Peat in (older) Glenburgie? Why not.

The finish is medium long, malty and sweet with some sherry notes at the death.

The expectations for this older bottling were rather low, to be honest, but this is a very enjoyable whisky.

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