In the final instalment of my trip to Glenturret I will be mentioning the peated version of Glenturret. The NAS bottle which is part of the Glenturret core range until a new range is developed by the new owners.

The warehouse tour on which I tasted this whisky is all laid out in a previous article at Distillery Visit: Glenturret. 

The Dram

The Glenturret peated edition is the only core bottle which includes the peated whisky from the distillery. Each year only a small amount is made which is known as Ruadh Maor and some bottles exist as independent bottles but most goes into making blends like Famous Grouse.

During the warehouse tour I got to try both the unpeated and peated spirit as a white new make which was really interesting. In fact the peated spirit was a particular standout drink on its own. I would be recommending it is bottled and marketed for cocktail making as it is clean, smoky and sweet and totally drinkable on its own. A very impressive product indeed and that is not something I say often when trying out new makes.

However, back with the bottle in question it is still available for around £45 and is bottled at 43%. The expression is actually a blend of peated and unpeated whisky so scared is the brand managers that the peated spirit will detract from the subtle house style of Glenturret.

Tasting Notes

Colour – yellow

Nose – apples, brine and honey are strong and sweet flavours the background note is from the peat which is a warming dying fire and again that buttery nature

Palate – Fairly decent texture which is much better than the 10 for example. More of the apples and some cereal notes which are given an earthy and dirty toasted quality from the smoking.

Finish – Like with so many peated whiskies the smoke sticks and lingers giving even watered down whiskies a long finish. The brine notes are back from the nose as well. The finish is generally sweet with a lemon sherbet citric aspect which leads to bringing back the cola cubes from a previous tasting of the much older 30 year old.

Final Thoughts

This whisky is full of flavours and like the Glen Moray Peated is a gateway whisky into the world of peated scotch whisky. There is a lot to be said for this simple and slightly sweet whisky and if you haven’t tried it I would suggest you seek out a dram sometime soon.