Glengoyne 10 Year Old

I'm not sure if this is my first Glengoyne. I may have tasted the 15 Year Old awhile back but I don't think I've ever reviewed one. From what I could find online, Glengoyne straddles the Highland line and so their whisky is distilled in the Highlands but matured in the Lowlands. Does it matter? I'm not really sure.

The label states that the colour is natural and derived "from time and oak casks alone". That's good to know. As Ralfy says "the label is the contract between the producer and the customer, Malt Mates." Glengoyne 10 is rather light gold in appearance, lending credence to the claims about natural colour.

• Nose (undiluted): raisins, dates, more sherry character than I expected from such a young malt (presumably matured in second-fill sherry casks), green apples, honey, floral vanilla
• Palate: rather light bodied, but not unpleasantly so, toffee, raisins, apple skins, some nuttiness (almonds, perhaps?), malted barley
• Finish: on the short side, a bit of milk chocolate, light oak spices (cinnamon and cloves), more raisins, toffee, and vanilla with a bit of malted barley character
• Thoughts: I tend to prefer heavy, oily, funky, peat-forward whiskies but Glengoyne 10 is remarkably good despite being none of those things. The words "clean" and "crisp" come to mind. Light and floral have been descriptors I've avoided like the plague yet this one is rather pleasant. There is absolutely no sulphur, the wine cask doesn't dominate the malt, and despite being "light" it doesn't feel weak or watery. Well done, Glengoyne.

Edit: I just checked Glengoyne's website and the cask makeup is "70% hand-selected refill casks, 15% first-fill European oak sherry casks, 15% first-fill American oak sherry casks"

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