I absolutely adored my last heavily peated Glenturret - another single cask bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") that was called "Confessions of a Barbecue" and absolutely reeked from bottom to top of scorched wood - pencil shavings, roasted splinters, ash, cinder, you name it. It was phenomenal. One of the single smokiest whiskies I've ever had, maybe the most. So when this bottle became available, I jumped all over it.
"A Bit of a Beast" (cask 16.51) is 10 years old, matured in a recharred hogshead, and has the following official tasting notes:
The nose suggested an odd juxtaposition of nectarines and peaches with hickory smoked bacon – we also got pickled jalapenos, haggis crisps and burning garam masala in the background. Tasting it – ‘Wow!’ said one panellist; ‘A bit of a beast’ said another (meant as a compliment!) Honey and tinned pineapple sweetness, but with wood char and ash, interesting savoury notes (barbecued baby back ribs, pigs in blankets) and warm spices (hot sauce, smoked paprika). The reduced nose was a curious journey – creosote, freshly-laid road tar and burning gorse. The palate now found cinnamon, clove, aniseed, liquorice and plentiful puffs of savoury smoke.
Interesting! It promises to be a little more complicated - and perhaps a bit less ashy - than the previous bottle I had. Bottled at a nice even 60.0% ABV. I am certain I will love it - but let's make sure...
Nose: Tons of smoke come barreling up out of the glass into your eyes, your nose, your mouth: this is heavily peated indeed. That essential element of "pencil shavings" is here. But there IS an underlying fruity sweetness (I'll agree with "nectarines and peaches," especially peaches) that wasn't present in the other bottle I had. This nose is quite balanced between sweet and smoke, and unfolds slowly. Smoked bacon, hot pepper potato chips, sour brine, red wine vinegar.
With water: The nose separates a bit, stratifies: smoked pineapple, charcoal, peach pits are added to the mix - the pineapple is quite distinct and comes to the forefront when you add water.
Mouthfeel: Very heavy, thick.
Palate: Whoa. This is one hell of a set of flavors! BBQ ribs (wet, not dry-rubbed), bacon, sweet grilled peaches, smoked cracked pepper, jalapeno on top of spicy chili, and a firm foundation of sweet honey on top of ashy cedar planks (!). Fantastic stuff.
With water: This changes things quite a bit, and adds a strong malted barley element to the mix that I particularly liked. Malted barley, thick red BBQ sauce, bacon, honey, and grilled tropical fruit. It's a toss-up whether I like it more neat or with a splash. Both are delectable.
Finish: Like many heavily peated drams, this lasts an eternity in your mouth and will dominate your tongue for many long minutes after the glass is empty. Smoke, ash, dry toast, and honey all mix, but it's the smoke and peat that outlast everything else.
Verdict: This is a huge winner for me, but I suspect it will be rather divisive elsewhere. It's not as charry and roasty as the previous Glenturret bottle that I mentioned above, having many more angles of flavor in its arsenal, but remains exceedingly peated and smoky from start to finish; some may find that the ashes interfere with the delicate peach, the honey, the spices.
I don't - I love this from beginning to end, and it's safe to say that Glenturret is very rapidly becoming one of my very very favorite peated whiskies, right up there with Ardbeg and certain Ardmores and Laphroaig. This is really fabulous Scotch, right in line with my favorite tastes and flavors: bold, exciting, aggressive, yet also soft and complex at times. Recommended for peat-heads and the adventurous; not so much for fans of, say, delicate Speysides.
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