I recently visited The Glenturret distillery and tried among other things the oldest whisky in their core range. The 30 year old single malt whisky which looks to only be available from the distillery itself. Before reading on if you haven’t already check out my article on my day there at Distillery Visit: Glenturret

The Dram

The Glenturret 30 year old is a natural colour and if the guides at the distillery are to be believed its filtered as well. The strength is a very low 43.3% ABV which I assume was a conscious decision rather than a lot of evaporation but I could be wrong. I cannot find this anywhere online other than from the distillery so I guess it is a small batch thing and has been out since 2017. At £350 a bottle it is at the lower end of the pricing for distillery branded single malted at 30 years old but it is also one of the lowest strengths I have seen in this sector as well. The whisky has been matured in refill sherry casks for its whole life. One little nugget from the tour was that Glenturret do not generally finish their whisky but rather combine casks to create bottles.

Tasting Notes

Colour – Amber

Nose – restrained and closed like so many Glenturrets with some nutmeg and a lactic note in there as well.

Palate – There is quite a thin texture, certainly not something thick and chewy like a lot of whiskies of this age. The mid palate is quite hollow as well which is quite disappointing with only perhaps a suggestion of some cinnamon sticks. One note I picked up though on second sitting was cola cubes.

Finish – The finish however is much longer than the palate and lingers with light wood shaving notes and a touch of sap to bring in a sweeter edge. This turns sour in time from a charred wood note which out lasts all other competing voices.

Final Thoughts

To be able to try an expensive whisky which is also hard to buy anywhere was a good experience. To try it also in the warehouses where it had spent 30 years was also a nice touch. However, in terms of the actual whisky and if I would buy a better myself? I think I would pass unfortunately.