I recently had a sampling of Glen Garioch 12 Year from a Suntory rep here in Washington DC. Bottled at a nice, round, robust 48%, and aged for 12 years in a mix of sherry and bourbon barrels. This is a distillery that has escaped me until now - it was founded in 1797 (!), making it one of the oldest - so I was quite curious to try something new. Let's see how it did!
Nose: Fragrant mix of unripe fruit (apples? pears? even, perhaps, mango?) and vanilla. Lots of sugar tones here: sugar cookies, vanilla extract, chocolate. I wasn't able to really let this one sit in the glass, but I did start to pick up a few floral notes. And also a earthy smoke! But only a tiny, tiny bit.
Mouthfeel: Medium.
Palate: Honey and unripe orange, both quite nice. Chocolate. More sweetness, in the guise of caramel.
Finish: Coffee! and peppery oak. I didn't get the coffee at any earlier point, but I certainly found it all over the finish. A nice flavor. Medium length.
Verdict: This was a very solid 12 Year expression. I am unsure I would seek this bottle out on a shelf among its brethren - but I'm also unsure why I say that. Perhaps this profile was a little too sweet for me? Perhaps the fruit wasn't quite developed in the way I prefer? Did I want more smoke?
One of the perils of in-store sampling is that you have such a limited window to really explore the whisky, and have to make a snap decision. In this case, I suppose that I wasn't 100% sold on this bottle - but it's perfectly possible that this was my fault, or the situation I encountered it in. So, I'll tentatively say this is good stuff, no obvious flaws at all, and hope that I come across in more favorable circumstances.
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