After a busy first week of work after the holidays, it is time to pick up my reviews again. So let’s get off to a good start with this gorgeous Glenury Royal 36 years old!
Glenury Royal (East Highlands) may only be known to some, which is understandable since the distillery closed in 1985 and has since been demolished to make room for housing. Apart from that, very few bottles have been released under the name Glenury Royal. Mostly bottled by independent bottlers, but there are also a handful of Diageo releases, including a few bottles in the Rare Malts collection and Special Releases. The distillery did release some single malts at the time, but this was under the names Garron and Downie, which are even rarer.
This Glenury Royal 36 years old was part of the Special Releases 2007 and is even the youngest of the three released in this series (the other two are no less than 40 and 50 years old!), bottled at a hefty strength of 57.9% ABV.
Glenury Royal 36 years old tasting notes:
Nose: strawberries. Orange marmalade and pineapple too. A hint of wax and wood varnish. Diesel oil. Coconut. A lovely hint of matcha tea. Acacia honey, followed by a floral note. Later also strawberry yoghurt.
Taste: orange marmalade, but also raisins and plums. Toffee and acacia honey again. Apple syrup. Dark chocolate. Earl grey tea. Wood varnish and some wax are here as well. Which is followed by an oak note and lovely lingering spices, such as cloves and crushed black peppercorns.
Finish: long, warming, and lingering. Oranges, apple syrup, and dark chocolate. More of the same spices and a touch of oak.
Ok, this one falls into the category: they don’t make them like that anymore. It’s very complex, quite powerful, and there’s a lot going on in this dram. I can’t stop smelling and tasting it; it’s just stunning!
