The newly-formed Glasgow Malt Whisky Club has made its first outing - to Glengoyne Distillery a few miles from the city in beautiful rolling countryside. For those who don’t know it, the distillery is neat and in a spectacular setting, with its own waterfall and woodland walks. More importantly, it serves some delicious drams!
Our first, welcoming glass was the standard 10-year-old, a light, eminently quaffable malt, followed by a much more complex and rounded 17-year-old. Before a tour of the distillery we sampled a 12-year-old cask strength which was light years away from the standard offering and was perceived by many of us as being the best of the day so far.
Better, far, far, better was to come. After the tour of this Highland distillery (it sits just inside the Highland Fault) we crossed the road to the warehouses where the ‘long sleep’ takes place – in the lowlands!
Perhaps this is why many regard Glengoyne as more typically lowland than Highland.
Back to the shop for a more leisurely tasting including a 21YO, a 31YO cask strength and an incredible 31YO single cask at 51.8%. A newer addition to the range, the 15-year-old Glengoyne Limited Edition Scottish Oak Wood Finish (43% Alc./Vol), was a magnificent expression, and the final dram of the day
(Except for the OTHER drams we sampled in the Pot Still later that evening)
A wonderful experience for our maiden voyage and for many the beginning of a long relationship with this fine distillery.