Glengoyne “White Oak” Review

 

Glengoyne “White Oak”

Glengoyne “White Oak”
Owner	Ian Macleod Distillers
Barcode	5010852054392
Price	NIS 360 (£64 in the UK)
Alcohol Percentage (abv)	48%
Bottle Volume (cl)	70
Cask Maturation	Ex-Bourbon and American Virgin Oak
Non-Chill-Filtered	Yes
Natural Colour	Yes
Kashrus Status	No Kashrus issues.
Kashrus certification	OK

Where I’ve Been and What I’ve Been Up to

I’m writing this article on my last night in the UK after having been here for the past three weeks. This included a week in Scotland refreshing my knowledge by talking with Whisky professionals during private visits to distilleries such as Springbank, Glengyle, Glen Scotia, Glasgow 1770 and Glen Garioch to name a few. I Be’ezras Hashem will be flying back home tomorrow, but I wanted to try and upload this review before I go home.

It’s been a whirlwind tour consisting of giving whisky presentations and a three-hour shiur on hilchas “Whisky” to a packed crowd in a shul in Golders Green. As mentioned earlier, I spent a wonderful week in Scotland where I was given an incredibly warm welcome. This included giving a talk to the staff at Glen Garioch (pronounced “Glen Geiree”), about kosher whisky issues. I also mixed business with pleasure as I invited my three married sons to join me in all these distillery tours. Their favourite tour without a doubt was their visit to Glen Scotia distillery.

BeMikre, whilst here in the UK I also happened to meet a Jewish employee of “Compass Box” at a shiur and had a lovely conversion with her. Shout out to Beverly. Let’s keep in touch.

I have to apologise for the lack of weekly reviews this past few weeks as I have been involved in a joint project to write a comprehensive Kuntres on Hilchas Whisky in the light of the Scotch Whisky Industry’s current Cask practices. This has involved many hours of learning, research, writing and sitting down with some important Poskim here in London, going over the chomer and making sure all the translations of the relevant Shulchan Aruchs were accurate and their context fully explained. Be’ezras Hashem I hope to get this completed in a few weeks. I’m hoping this will be the most accurate and leMa’aseh kuntres on this subject as it’s based on the metzius sourced first-hand from Scotch Whisky professionals.

 

Introduction

I have never visited Glengoyne distillery before, despite it being centrally located. Likewise, I’ve never visited Macallan, Glendronach, Glenfarclas and others, despite having driven past them many times. The reason is that I have had a long-standing policy not to visit any distillery that produces whisky exclusively matured in Ex-Sherry casks. Even though, as I understand it, there is no inyan of Maris Eiyin when it comes to an isur DeRabbonon, I still feel uncomfortable visiting these distilleries. I suppose I’m concerned that someone Jewish might see me, a clearly identifiable Orthodox Jew walking around the distillery and perhaps conclude that the whisky is OK to drink.

I might well make a visit to Glengoyne later this year, as I am excited to announce that they have now released a regular core-range kosher expression, the Glengoyne “White Oak” matured in a marriage of Ex-Bourbon barrels and Virgin Oak casks, that even comes with a hechsher by the OK kashrus organisation.

Is Glengoyne a Highlands or Lowlands Distillery?

Glengoyne is in Dumgoyne, north of Glasgow, strategically located both sides of the A81, sitting bang on the traditional Whisky region boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands of Scotland.

Indeed, the stills are located on one side of the road whereas the warehouses are located on the other, meaning that the spirit is created in the Highlands but is then matured in the Lowlands. This begs the question, is Glengoyne a Highlands or Lowlands distillery? So, according to the Scotch Whisky Association, it’s the location of the stills that determines the distillery’s designated region, so this makes Glengoyne the lowest of the Highlands distilleries.

Packaging And Artwork

I remember a few decades ago that Glengoyne distillery proudly displayed a Royal Warrant on its front label similar to Royal Lochnagar and Laphroaig, However, in the early 2000s it suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a bundle of barley designed to resemble almost exactly the missing Royal Warrant. I never realised what had actually happened to that royal warrant until I did a little research for this review.

Glengoyne didn’t actually lose its Royal Warrant as I had always believed, that is, in the sense of it being revoked. The real reason for the warrant’s disappearance is revealed when you take note of the actual member of the royal family who granted the warrant in the first place. It wasn’t Queen Elizabeth II but her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1984, who obviously enjoyed a dram of Glengoyne in her old age. So sadly, the original warrant lapsed with the death of its grantor, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother who passed away in 2002 at the grand old age of 101. In actual fact, Royal Lochnagar is the only malt distillery that holds the Royal Warrant from the current reining monarchy. But does it? It was first given the warrant by Queen Victoria in 1848 and I suppose that it simply automatically passes on to the next reigning monarch when the current one dies.

In contrast, Laphroaig was given a royal warrant in 1994 from the then Charles, Prince of Wales, the next in line to the monarchy. However, now, after the death of his mother, Queen Elizebeth II, Charles is now King Charles III, the current reigning monarch. So, shouldn’t Laphroaig also have a royal warrant from the now king or has this automatically been passed down to the current Prince of Wales, who is now William? Does William even like peated whisky?

In the picture below you can see the original label and how they tried to disguise its disappearance in 2002 and then how the label artwork has gradually evolved into its current theme of two geese and then a single goose.

Glengoyne have always had a rather minimalistic artwork and packaging. Many of their expressions did come in a metal tin canister but some didn’t, which pre-empted the Scotch Whisky Industry’s current trend of not supplying a can or a box by decades.

This edition does not come with any protective container either.

Incidentally, as well as the Queen Mother, Glengoyne must have had a fan at the BBC in the 1980s as I remember (back when I used to watch TV), quite a few programmes where a bottle of Glengoyne featured, either sitting on the table in the background or sitting in a draw or even front and centre in glasses, actually being enjoyed. Presumably though, the producers had probably replaced the liquid with brown coloured water.

The Tasting Notes

Excellent quality cork stopper

These tasting notes came about as a result of a few whisky sessions consisting of my father and my three married sons.

Appearance

Absolutely typical colour of fresh First-Fill Ex-Bourbon barrels. The Virgin Oak casks component have obviously not been heavily charred as this would have considerably darkened the colour.

Aroma

Fresh Green Apples.

Lemon Meringue Pie.

Lemon and Vanilla ice cream.

A slight hint of musky warehouse. It’s not an off note but a fully integrated character enhancement.

Silky Smooth Wood Spices.

Mouth Feel

Rich. It's not heavy and syrupy but full bodied. Even at 48% abv, it's actually quite drinkable at that level, but I'd recommend adding a teaspoon of water to bring out all those fruity notes.

Tasting

Refreshing, zesty,

A slight fresh green leaf after a rainstorm note.

Green Apple peel.

Butter Caramel.

Crème Brulé.

 

Finish

The hint of that elegant musky warehouse carries through to the finish, along with delicious green fruits and creamy burnt fudge.

Conclusion

Well, it’s been a long time coming but Glengoyne’s first ever core range Ex-Bourbon Barrel matured expression “knocks it for six” (or “knocks it out the park”, for my American readers).

It’s clean, that is, all the flavour notes are in crystal clear focus, everything readily identifiable. This is absolutely delicious stuff. It’s so well made. Beautifully balanced. One wonders why they waited so long to release something like this? Despite having other whiskies to try, everyone present found themselves pouring another Glengoyne. It is so incredibly moreish.

It actually reminded me of Glen Grant 10-Year-Old (in the white box), from 20 years ago, before they ruined it.

Regular readers know that I do not give scores to my reviews. Instead, give recommendations but qualify this by recommending the whisky to a particular type of whisky drinker. A Newbie or experienced drinker. A Speyside lover or Islay lover, etc. It has happened that I have not recommended a whisky to anyone! However, here, I would recommend this Glengoyne White Oak to almost everyone, newbie and whisky connoisseur alike.

I picked my bottle up in London but I have been reliably informed that it should Be’ezras Hashem,  be available in Israel soon, if not already available now. I do have a vague memory of seeing a bottle in Israel but can't remember where. If you happen to see one of these geese in the wild, do let me know in the comments section below.