Another interesting selection from Glenturret, as released by the independent bottlers at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS")! This one is USA-exclusive, and was released for Father's Day 2021 (alongside a 23-year Glenrothes).
I had a lot of fun with the last peated Glenturret I had from the SMWS. A young, brash 6 year peated whisky called "Cooking on a Rusty Grill," I found medicinal and BBQ notes were mixed with gentle sweet notes of tea, pears, sugar cookies, and spice.
This bottle, called "Confessions of a Barbecue," is almost twice as old at 11 years, is heavily peated, and was aged in a re-charred hogshead - I'm really expecting that char to burst through. Bottled at 61.1%, the official tasting notes are pretty wild:
Thick plumes of smoke and engine grease blended with sticky Muscovado sugar caramelising on barbecued pork ribs, bananas and singed pineapple as hints of rum and vanilla embraced liquorice on pencil shavings. Scorched raisins on the palate introduced burning bramble bushes and soot mixed with butter on rye bread and squares of smoked chilli chocolate. More woodiness emerged with water bringing vanilla and creosote along with black olives sprinkled over flamed mackerel. Orange oil coated the mouth as prosciutto and the burnt ends of brisket swirled around cherry jam, malt loaf and enduring clouds of heavy wood smoke.
Engine grease! Caramelized sugar! Ribs and bananas and pineapple! Pencil shavings?! Buttered rye bread?!!? Black olive and mackerel?!?!?! Well, let's dig in and find out:
Nose: Wow, interesting nose on the neck pour here: heavy peat, heavy sweet. A lot of BBQ sauce sweetness combines with the heavily smoky peat. I can sense some of the bananas and tropical fruits from the official tasting notes, but faintly. Weirdly, I absolutely get the scent of "liquorice and pencil shavings"! The smell of freshly shaved wood, especially, is quite strong on the back end of the aroma.
With time in the glass, and a little water, the nose softens a little, but remains essentially the same with the pencil shavings (so distinct!), gunpowder, and dry rub BBQ spice, with faint notes of banana hanging in the air.
Mouthfeel: Thinnish, but silky.
Palate: Whoa, this is a powerhouse of flavor. A real roundhouse kick: heavy, heavy, heavy smoke and peat. Earthy, not the briny coastal kind - this is like a wood fire kept burning long hours in a hearth far, far inland, late at night.
Burned fruit. Ash. Scorched hot peppers. A very VERY heavy "wood" element here, following on the "pencil shavings" of the nose. This really *tastes* like the way burned wood smells. It's delicious - if you like that kind of thing. Glenturret easily rivals its Islay counterparts when it comes to ash and soot on the palate, maybe outpaces them.
With time in the glass, and a little water, this is basically exactly the same: aggressively woody with plumes and fountains of smoke from every corner. Peat, of course. Some mild underripe fruit, scorched and toasted. Perhaps black olives, as the official notes imply. I don't get the mackerel, though, nor the buttered rye bread. I do get the engine grease and ribs. This is basically 100% savory - not for someone seeking a complex sweet experience like you get with sherried or wine-finished whiskies.
Finish: As expected, the wood smoke and char last an eternity. It's a very long finish, but a little narrow in scope: ash, smoke, wood burning, and a very mild, plain sweetness: "sugar" in its plainest form.
Verdict: This is really fascinating stuff, I have never tasted anything so dedicated to the smell and taste of wood char. The re-charred hogshead REALLY comes through here. Ardbeg Alligator and Scorch, move over: there is a new sheriff in town.
This is an intense, aggressive whisky. Much less sweet than the 6 year was, although that element is still present. I would recommend this only for people who love peat and smoke, and don't mind an elbow of pure ash straight to the face. It's heavy, heavy stuff, and worthwhile, but of limited applicability to the wider Scotch-drinking audience. Still: I loved this. I will happily seek out all peated Glenturrets from now until eternity.
*A brief appendix: I found this fantastic site which discusses the Glenturret peating procedure (among many other things) and explains that their peated maltings are smoked for three whole days and end up between 80-120 ppm - which is 2x to 3x what you find in, say, Ardbeg or Laphroaig (!!). This explains some of the fierce smoke I experienced in the last couple Glenturret bottles from SMWS.
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