Review #119: Glen Spey 21yr 1989/2010, 50.4%, OB, first fill American oak, 5844 bottles

is this for real?

I don't know much about Glen Spey, but the name seems like a joke, as if someone named a French wine "Mas de Domaine Château," or something like that. But this makes more sense than that -- it's just a little plain, as far as names go. This one is still pretty widely available, oddly enough. I'm looking forward to it.

Nose: grassy -- more than I expected -- with a lot of chewy, meaty bourbon funkiness. What is bourbon funkiness, you ask? It's leather and corn and crème caramel and extracted oak spices, mostly, with some savory herbs and a distinctive sour note. Underneath all that there's a toasty malt core, and some fruit come out after a while, but you could almost mistake it for an unusually dry, oaky, savory bourbon.

Palate: Oak in your face. There are lots of soft, candied flavors, too, and some bananas and coconut, but the oak really grabs you (me).

Finish: lots of spices (clove, cinnamon, coriander) and toffee appear for the finish. I think it might be the best part.


Although this is enjoyable whisky, I'm a little disappointed: I was hoping to learn something about Glen Spey distillate, and instead I feel as if I learned more about distillate that sits in American oak for a long time. Still, I like American oak, and I like the departures from bourbon (the dry, savory herbaceousness) that this stuff does make.

score: 87