It hasn’t been that long ago that this Glen Elgin 1997 was released by Gordon & MacPhail. It was one of the first to be released for the recently renewed Connoisseurs Choice range. The upgrade: a beautiful new design of bottle, label and packaging and from now on everything is bottled at cask strength. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Meanwhile, this bottle is already sold out. After a few super good reviews and with an outcome of about 600 bottles that went very quickly. Yes, the news spread very quickly in whisky land. So I am very happy that I have been able to find a bottle, especially since it has already been sold at an auction for double its original price!
This Glen Elgin has matured in a 1st fill sherry butt and is bottled at 55,7% ABV. There were 602 bottles available.
Glen Elgin 1997 tasting notes:
Nose: Whoa, this is nice! Sligthly dried fruits mixed with dark forest fruits; black berries, blueberries, and plums (only a hint). Raspberries too. Some oak. Dark chocolat, and some lovely spice like cloves. Later some nailpolish remover and menthol. With water: Leads to orange marmelade, and a hint of honey.
Taste: Red fruits like strawberries, but the dark fruits are also abundant here. Hints of oak. Dark chocolat again. Cloves again, cinnamon, and slightly peppery. With water: Oranges, peppers are gone, but the rest of the spice remain strong, but nice.
Finish: A loooooong finish. With spices. There is an almost citrus-like hint. Somewhat oaky. And woohoo, chocolate again!
What can I say. This is excellent, excellent stuff! There aren’t many Glen Elgins that have matured in sherry casks , but if you find them they are generally always good and this confirms that again. A very good start of the new range, well done Gordon&MacPhail!
