Bought: The Whisky Shop, 18th January 2016
Ratings:
80/100 – Whiskybase (from 1 member vote)
Glendullan distillery is nothing if not a survivor. It began life in 1897 and almost immediately was hit by the post-Victorian slump in the whisky industry. It survived and kept going to this day through various hard times. What is Glendullan’s secret? In a cutthroat industry I can only assume it’s because the facilities at the distillery are exceptionally good at producing consistent and high-quality whisky. Owned by Diageo, Glendullan is a key component for blending and is found in Old Parr, Johnnie Walker, Bell’s and Dewar’s.
Designed for blending and being an excellent single malt don’t always go hand-in-hand but it seems that Glendullan could be one of the rare gems that’s good at both. There are only 5 Glendullan single malts listed in the Whisky Bible 2016, 4 score 87/100 or above (2 in the 90s) with only one scoring a lowly 73/100 (the ‘Singleton of Glendullan Library’). As I look through the 140+ bottles of Glendullan listed on Whiskybase, most average in the 80s-90s out of 100.
This is my second whisky by independent bottler ‘Douglas of Drumlanrig’ who have a nice habit of keeping things un-chill filtered, natural colour and at least 46%. Details on the bottle say:
Nose: flowers, vanilla, orchard fruits on a wet day
Palate: slightly peppery, dark chocolate, hazelnuts
Finish: long and dry, a nutty aftertaste
Although there were only 411 bottles produced of this delightful Speysider, it’s unlikely to make much money as a collector’s item unless the distillery closes down (this seems unlikely but you never know – anyone got a match?). Glendullan is rather too obscure to have many avid followers so it’s more for the drinking pleasure of something different than a long-term investment.
Whisky Den 