Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46%ABV
Ageing cask: Virgin
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Wilson & Morgan
Average price: € 50.00
Official website: www.wilsonandmorgan.com
Vote: 86/100
We will never tire of reminding ourselves of this: one of the great merits of independent bottlers is to bring to the fore distilleries that, for various reasons, work in the shadows, skilfully enhancing the value of their distillate.
For example, the “small” Glen Elgin, part of the immense Diageo family that uses its whisky for the blended White Horse, has only one OB, a 12yo from the Flora & Fauna series introduced in 2001, and only finds the opportunity to show its best qualities with the IBs. In this sense, the first bottling of the “A Space Whisky Odyssey” series, with which our friends at Whisky Facile celebrated ten years of their blog, speaks for itself.
So let’s look for confirmation with Wilson & Morgan, who offer us from the “Barrel Selection” a Glen Elgin distilled in 2008 and bottled in 2021, at 46% ABV, in its natural colour and without chillfiltration, matured – and this is the most intriguing novelty – in virgin casks, one of the most risky types of wood for the intensity of its contribution.
Tasting notes
The colour is a light gold.
On the nose, the first encounter is with fruit, in the guise of banana and cooked apple and pear, with a slight hint of vanilla growing over time. A hint of freshly chopped wood and a spicy hint of white pepper are probably a consequence of the choice of barrels and help to thicken a very traditional profile. After a few minutes, a delicious scent of apple pie rises from the glass.
On the palate, the sprinkling of pepper is even more decisive, with the fresh wood ending up looking like a tray on which is placed a white-fleshed fruit salad, enriched with ripe apricots and white grapes, with a distant sweetness of honey.
In the medium-long, partially spicy finish, there are hints of vanilla and white-fleshed fruit.
Knowledge of the subject is the fruit of experience: it cannot be improvised and often helps to avoid mistakes. Wilson & Morgan have it in spades and this Glen Elgin, so simple in appearance but with a balance that is anything but predictable, is the pleasant proof.