I have been quite negative on Whisky-Me recently and have thought about cancelling. A lot of the monthly drops have been either boring, disappointing or something I have already tried. This month though its GlenWyvis which has to be one of the Scottish distilleries that even for those of us in Scotland its hard to find or remember it even exists.

The Distillery

The GlenWyvis distillery is interesting for a few reasons. Firstly they have a rather fantastic gin and secondly they are a crowdfunded distillery using only renewable energy in their operation.

Located in the town of Dingwall in the Highland region GlenWyvis represents the first distilling in the area since Ben Wyvis operated between 1965 and 1977. Side fact the stills from Ben Wyvis ended up at Glengyle in the 2000’s which of course is the distillery which markets their single malts as Kilkerran.

The Whisky

This is the vintage release from GlenWyvis distillery and brings together 3 year old whisky made from both Concerto and Laureate barley varieties. Combined using 4 cask types (Bourbon, red wine, moscatel and Marsala). Bottled at 46.5% this version sells for around 50-60 pounds in the uk which is quite a lot for young whisky. Increasingly though I think we are coming to terms with the idea age is just a number or perhaps I am just getting old.

Tasting Notes

colour – dish water

Nose – washing up liquid, lavender and tyme

Palate – much richer and deeper. caramel and macadamia nut brittle. sour grapes

Finish – short finish prickly nettles and heather

Final Thoughts

The Marsala cask is particularly evident to me on the taste bringing some interest into what is mostly a single dimension very young whisky which needed either 1 more vibrant cask or 4 more years to mesh.