Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 40%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added colouring: Yes
Owner: Diageo
Average price: € 60.00
Official website: www.thesingleton.com
Vote: 78/100
Back to the brand with multiple personalities, which encompasses three distilleries under the same label, and after having tried the fifteen-year-old from Dufftown, we pour into the glass the one from Glendullan, the distillery generally used for references destined for the North American market.
It’s matured mainly in ex-Bourbon casks with a small contribution from ex-Sherry casks (“to give greater balance”, the website states) at the minimum strength as is common practice for basic bottlings, along with the twelve and eighteen year old.
Tasting notes
On the nose, the sherry component is certainly not bland, the contribution of dried figs and prunes, blood orange, sultanas and red fruits is consistent, with a slight tendency to sourness, and complements the buttery side that soon comes to the fore, with honey, vanilla, trifle and toffee. Certainly not complex, but pleasant and intense.
Light-bodied as you might expect, on the palate there is an initial prevalence of wood, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) and nuts, which between one sip and the next are joined by evocations of coffee and red fruits. The soft sweetness on the nose is almost totally dissolved in the tannins, only on the length does some white fruit notes appear.
The finish is quite short and astringent, of red fruits, spices and wood.
Another victim of the minimum alcohol content, with promises broken at the first sip: it’s true that the Glendullans tasted so far have never conveyed great emotions to me, but it’s still a pity to see them disappear in such an important ageing.