Glendower Pure Malt 15 year old Port Wood Finish

Who the heck ever heard of Glendower? Judging by the lack of hits on Google, not many people. It is a blended malt with the audacity to defy the SWA by calling itself a Pure Malt. Good for them. I was sufficiently impressed by the quality and value of the 8 year old that I had to spring for the 15 Port Wood, which is cheaper than any other 15 year old Scotch at the LCBO.

Nose: Cognac! Or in any case, sweet French brandy. Tasted blind, you would hardly recognize this as whisky at all. The malt seems lost beneath all the fruit, but the fruit is pleasant enough. Also a strong whiff of lilac.

Taste: a wave of fruity cognac flavour is intercepted by a salty dryness. Makes for an interesting collision, if not entirely coherent; the salty note comes on too strong and seems to clash with the sweetness. The malt gets somewhat involved, at least initially, before oak takes over, getting very dry and somewhat sour. Comes across as a bit thin for its age.

Finish: finishes as a cognac, with fruity oak.

Balance: my main thought about this whisky is “interesting,” but not altogether satisfying. It is almost sickly-sweet without sufficient backbone to balance all the fruit. Most of the charms found in Glendower 8 year old have been buried here. Not a terrible whisky but neither is it a successful experiment.