While away at a conference this week, I had the opportunity to try Dufftown’s Singleton of Glendullan. Not bad for a whisky that I’ve often passed over in the store, given its reviews across the web. As always, these reviews are a short, and very coarse, first impression.
Nose: The typical vegetal note that I see as “green”, with some added smokiness. Standard speysider apple with sherry. Kind of like an apple cider, with some freshly cut grass. For a first introduction, I quite enjoyed this part. It’s got some sharpness to it that I think some would describe as heat, but it’s not off-putting. In fact, it goes quite well. Perhaps the more tamed alcohol comes from the fact that the bottle was at least 2/3 empty, so there must have been a few months of evaporation.
Palate: Quite chewy for a 40% ABV whisky. Sherry, some bite that reminds me of candied ginger. A little bit of heat that gives a ‘tartness’ to the apple. Very earthy, grassy, with a smokiness that basically adds “toasted” as an adjective to every flavour. Reasonably balanced, but no earth-shattering complexity. A little rough around the edges, and overall not too special.
Finish: and this is where it falls apart. Very short, to almost no finish. Mostly just a rather tart apple.
Grade: C+
A whisky that starts reasonably well, but declines from there. A good experience if you can find it cheap, and if you really enjoy that vegetal note, as I do.
