GLEN ELGIN 1985 85.27 'REFRESHING ELDERFLOWER FIZZ' - THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY

It's been a long week, so no introduction to this review other than its another nice one from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Only 12 bottles of this made it to Denmark.

Here we go...

Glen Elgin 1985 85.27 (02.05.1985/xx.xx.2013) 'Refreshing Elderflower Fizz' 28yo, 48,6%, refill hogshead, 237 bottles, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Colour is pale amber

Nose:
Spicy, honey, vanilla, very sweet with some overripe apple and orange

Taste:
Creamy - almost oily, natural caramel, aniseed, peppery oaky nip. More citrus (orange, mainly)comes through after a while, honey also creeps in again, but also producing some herbal notes on the finish.

This is very nice - best GE I've had, probably...

88/100!

GLEN ELGIN 1985 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

There's been much confusion lately :-O Douglas Laing was split up earlier this year - now it's Hunter Laing, Douglas Laing and old and new brands, one of the new being 'Old Particular' from Douglas Laing... I actually had to visit their respective websites to find out who releases what these days - oh, the joys of being a whisky nerd :-))

Anyway, I'm not gonna dwell on this company split, but instead I'll move on to the whisky and distillery itself.

Founded in 1898 on the Rothes to Elgin road (closest to Elgin) its production mainly ends up in Diageo's White Horse blend - a brand associated with this distillery for many years.

My first experience with Glen Elgin actually goes back some 8-9 years, I think... and the experience was a pleasant one. The expression was the standard 12yo and I still remember it as very mouth filling, fruity and carrying a spicy edge.... Its been a while since I've tried it and I'm sure my tastebuds have progressed quite a bit since then also, but its a malt I still wouldn't turn down if offered.

I remember one of the features often mentioned about Glen Elgin Distillery is its wormtubs condensers outside its stillhouse. Now, I briefly covered wormtubs in this review but those are bit different than those found at Glen Elgin. You have to go to another Diageo distilleries, either Mortlach in Dufftown or Dalwhinnie off the A9 to find similar style condensers.

You don't really see alot of bottlings of Glen Elgin, neither OBs or IBs, so I suggest try one if you come across it.

Glen Elgin Distillery w/ wormtubs on left - Picture from Wikimedia

Glen Elgin 1985 (xx.05.1985/xx.05.2009) 24yo, 44,9%, refill hogshead#5124, 250 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Colour is pale straw

Nose:
Vanilla and cookie dough, hint of white wine, lemon cake, freshly sliced apples

Taste:
Orange marmalade, sweet barley sugar, grassy, marzipan, finishes on a little bitter oak and malt.

A bit simple, but straight and honest malt from a well used cask, lots of spirit character there, IMO and a pleasant session dram.

Thanks to UB for the sample!

82/100!