Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 43%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex bourbon
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added colouring: Yes
Owner: Diageo
Average price: € 300.00
Official website: –
Vote: 87/100
After having tried several independent single casks with great satisfaction, the time has finally come to pour into the glass a version of Glen Elgin made directly by the distillery.
The ‘standard’ 12 year old is widely available on the market, but today’s is the version with the Flora & Fauna series label, of which very little information can be found online, just as it is difficult to find the bottle, which has long since ceased production.
This bottling was part of the last addition to the collection in 2001 along with three others (Auchroisk, Glen Spey and Strathmill), without any packaging.
The bird on the label is a house martin, a species that nests under the distillery’s gutters.
Tasting notes
Fauna may not be, but there is plenty of flora on the nose, herbaceous scents combined with a lot of wildflower honey, candyfloss, vanilla, marzipan, pear, a drop of propolis and a cinnamon flourish. Soft and warm, the malt caresses the nostrils while a citrus note grafts onto the floral evocations, enhancing in time a mineral vein (with flashes of smoke) that accentuates the freshness. Pleasingly classic.
On the palate, the mineral note (again with a flicker of smoke) returns overbearingly, dampening the impact of the sweeter, more cuddly part of the whisky, which is still very present, declined in fruit (apple, pear, a hint of banana), honey and cereals, with citrus and the vegetable part in greater evidence. The spices (a hint of pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg) are exalted in a well-structured, full whole, with a balsamic ambition that emerges in length.
The finish is quite long and inevitably mineral and herbaceous, where the smoky note becomes more persistent, embracing white fruit, honey and spicy hints.
The embodiment of the Glen Elgin profile, just with more influence from the casks evident in the smoky part, which leaves you fully satisfied if you like the genre, with that balance between sweetness and floral minerality that, personally, makes me tickle!