Gordon & Macphail Reserve Glenburgie 2002

This is only my second Glenburgie. And it is the second from Elgin based independent bottler Gordon & Macphail. The first one was a Maltclan club bottling. This one's bottled exclusively for Belgium and has been picked by Eric Vermeire.

Glenburgie is a key component in Ballantine's, one of the best selling blended Scotch whiskies. It is also part of a supermarketblend called Old Smuggler. The distillery started life under the name of Kilnflat Distillery. Glenburgie got completely refurbished in 2004 and produces 4.2 million litres of alcohol nowadays.

Identity Card Gordon & Macphail Reserve Glenburgie 2002

• Bottled by Gordon & Macphail Reserve
• Glenburgie Distillery, Alves (Speyside)
• 12 year old single malt
• 58.5% ABV
• Distilled in 2002 - bottled in 2014
• 238 bottles
• Exclusively bottled for Belgium

Tasting notes

Colour: Wet straw coloured whisky. Swirling leaves thin fast legs.

Nose: Fruity and alcoholic from the start. Kiwi, eggnog and lemon jenever. Lots of spices and herbs too. Think cumin, fennel seed and green herbs like tarragon. The whisky gets sweeter over time with notes of vanilla, Werther's Original caramel candy. Oatmeal porridge flavoured with cinnamon and golden syrup. Whipped cream puffs. The usual fruity suspects from a bourbon cask: banana and melon.
With a few drops of water it's like a pastis with way too much water (I might have overwatered it myself.). Quite minerally too. Canned pineapple and peaches.

Taste: Pepper and galanga or ginger. Banana and apple with a slightly bitter touch.

With water this becomes a lot sweeter and fruitier. A tiny touch of oak. A chocolate bar and nuts.

Finish: Hints of spices in the aftertaste. Ginger and gingerbread. Gets drier near the end. Warm and refreshing at the same time. Menthol.

This sample was buried in my Speyside sample box. It was a very decent everyday dram in my memory. It didn't blow me away, but still highly enjoyable. Gordon & Macphail bottlings are always reliable on that account: honest quality single malts from distilleries that are usually blend fodder.

Source: Malt Whisky Yearbook 2015