Earlier in 2020, I started exploring whisky from the Glenglassaugh distillery. The first whisky I tried was the first release of the series, the Revival release. It’s named to celebrate the reopening and revival of the distillery. Today it is time for the second release in the series, the Glenglassaugh Evolution single malt Scotch whisky.
Col. James Moir founded the Glenglassaugh distillery in 1875. He ran the distillery with his two nephews until 1892, when Highland Distillers sold Glenglassaugh. The distillery had periods of being closed, and then in 1960 was completely re-built.
Glenglaussagh distillery mainly produced whisky for blends, including Cutty Sark and the Famous Grouse. The distillery continued to produce whisky until 1986, when it was mothballed.
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On the lookout for a Scottish distillery to buy, Scaent Company acquired this Highland distillery in 2008. The intention was to bring this distillery fully backs to life. They restarted production and upgraded some of the processes. In 2013, the BenRiach Distillery
Company acquired the Glenglassaugh distillery, and they continued to build upon the work done by Scaent.
Torfa followed Glenglaussaugh Evolution, and there are various Limited Editions also available. The Evolution release is a NAS whisky matured in a unique combination ex-Tennessee first-fill whiskey barrels. It has a natural colour and is non-chill-filtered.
Glenglassaugh Evolution Whisky Review
REGION: Highland
ABV: 50%
COLOUR: Crisp gold
NOSE: Delicious sweetness with white grapes, green grass, cinnamon and vanilla. Warming and inviting. A bit of alcohol on the nose, and it needs to stand for a bit to breathe. The nose is lovely and promises many delights.
PALATE: White pepper and dry oak with hints of malt. Only later does some of the fruitiness come through. Some alcohol heat. The sweetness promised by the nose has disappeared. There are hints of lemon rind, which softens with the addition of a bit of water. The water softens the alcohol and pepper heat but does not bring any more sweetness. Medium body with not a lot of complexity.
FINISH: Lemon pepper and dry oak.
RATING: GOOD
I could not finish my glass. The pepper just too overwhelming on the palate and the finish. The nose was delicious and promised all kinds of pleasures, but the promised sweetness did not appear.
Looking back at the Glenglassaugh Revival release I tasted a year ago, my tasting notes were pretty similar for that release, just to peppery. I might only try the Torfa release next year at this rate.
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