Glasgow 1770 10yo
Limited Single Cask Celebratory Release | 54% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Fruity, creamy and sweet; could be an 8
Coming of Age
I’m firmly in an ex-bourbon cask mode these days. I know it’s often mentioned, but it’s personally true for me to share that I want to taste the spirit of the distillery: isn't that essentially what makes each potentially unique?
Whether that be vibrant orchard and tropical fruits from the likes of Loch Lomond or Glen Elgin; more mineralic and coastal elements from the Campbeltown distilleries, or a waxy Clynelish or Deanston.
The darker flavours and red fruits brought to the party by sherry and wine casks - rather than the spirit itself - are still enjoyable to me and there’s a time and place for them when I want something different, but I much prefer the spirit not to be covered up by heavy cask influence and when I fancy a dram I find these days I’m reaching for them much less. There are nuances of course, and a well put together marriage of cask types can be wonderful too, or even a less active refill cask.
I have reviewed a couple of Glasgow’s more cask forward whiskies in the past and enjoyed them very much. The Golden Beer cask was matured in a cask which held PX before the beer and had lots of that influence shining through. It was a nice drop and well worthy of a six out of ten. The Marsala cask with peated spirit was even better and scored a seven from me, as did the peated cask strength. Peat-and-sweet does work wonders after all. However, I have been wanting after a Small Batch release that might see Glasgow to believe in their spirit more, and be less reliant on the cask to bring a large percentage of the flavour.
It’s not unusual for a newer distillery to use casks to enhance their young whisky and make it more saleable and perhaps even more drinkable, but there are plenty of examples of young whisky working very well in more spirit sympathetic ex-bourbon casks. The four year old Lochlea from the recently released Thompson Brothers Mystery Malts is delightful. The three year old Circumstance they bottled has achieved something of a cult status amongst enthusiasts too. Dallas reviewed a couple of Ballindalloch’s which, although pricey, were also great. From their very first release in 2020, Ardnamurchan have experimented with a wide variety of casks, but for me their core AD/ release favours bourbon casks for the majority of the make-up and has been very well received, as are the cask strength releases.
Why focus solely on new distilleries? I am currently enjoying a five year old Glen Scotia from their unlocked series which is from a single first-fill ex-bourbon barrel, and Loch Lomond’s five year old distillery edition number two was another winner. I will stop linking to things now. I think you get the point.
Young whisky doesn’t always need to receive the heavy cask treatment to be delicious.
It would be unfair of me to suggest that all Glasgow releases are cask dominated. When you go to Glasgow’s website and browse their shop, the cask details are given for each of their bottlings. The flagship Original is initially matured in first-fill ex-bourbon before being finished for six months in virgin oak, which adds a little too much oak and spice for my palate preferences, but I realise that can be a winning combination for others. The one with the most bourbon cask influence is the Triple Distilled, which is almost entirely first-fill and refill bourbon casks with 4-8% virgin oak in the mix. I tried it a while back now and remember it being lovely on the nose, with orchard and tropical fruits, but the palate didn’t quite deliver to the same extent. Probably a 5/10 if I was scoring it from memory, but it was only a single pour and it is one I need to return to soon. It could well be improving as the stocks at their disposal are deepening and coming of age.
However, when I saw Glasgow were releasing a ten year old to celebrate their tenth anniversary I was immediately intrigued. Once I discovered it was to be an unpeated double distilled spirit matured in a refill ex-bourbon barrel I was positively foaming at the mouth. With it being a single cask I knew that the morning of release I needed to be on my laptop, logged into my account and ready to go. I even set an alarm on my phone. It was like reliving the heady days of lockdown 2020, which I don’t think any of us want to see again.
With the whisky market cooling and my FOMO largely in check these days, it’s been a long time since I have felt the need to do that, but at £69 for a hugely significant single cask release like this meant measures had to be taken to make sure I could grab one. I really wish they had released a batch of a few casks to enable more to get a chance at this, but stocks from those first spirit runs are understandably rare - and we hear there could be more after what was a very successful celebratory release here.
Review
Glasgow 1770 10yo, Single Cask, Bourbon Cask matured, Cask number 15/10 (tenth cask filled), bottled March 2025, 230 bottles released, 54% ABV
£59 direct only, sold out
Glasgow filled their first cask on 5th March 2015. This release was the tenth cask ever filled and the double distilled unpeated spirit was put into refill ex-bourbon on 20th March. It was bottled a few days after its tenth birthday on 24th March 2025 and bottled at 54% ABV. It yielded 230 bottles, which were available from their website. These days Glasgow is a rising star amongst enthusiasts and, unsurprisingly, these were snapped up within twenty minutes.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Fruity, creamy and sweet; could be an 8
Nose
Sweet vanilla and caramel mixed with acidic fruits – pears in syrup, green apple skins and pineapple. A hint of ripe banana too and a slightly earthy dunnage vibe.
Palate
Echoes of the nose. Orchard fruits again, but perhaps more apple than the pears this time and all coated in caramel and vanilla. It’s very juicy and quite sweet. Old Jamaica ginger beer brings warming but never too aggressive heat, with coconut and lightly charred oak in the background. It’s creamy in the finish with the orchard fruit remaining prominent and a slight earthiness at the back end.
The Dregs
I could have easily marked this up to an eight.
It truly is something special that Glasgow has marked this anniversary with a simple refill ex-bourbon cask and it’s a lovely fruity and creamy dram, but judging the liquid alone and not its significance I think a seven is about right. At 54% I don’t feel it benefits from any extra dilution, but a small drop does it no harm at all.
I had hoped the latest small batch series might introduce a bourbon cask release for those who didn’t manage to grab the very limited ten year old. It doesn’t need to be as old as ten, but a peated and an unpeated double distilled ex-bourbon would be great and I hope they can find a few nice casks in the warehouse to bring us that in the near future. Alas, it was three wine casks in the end, which will be reviewed by my fellow Dramfacers soon.
I’d be surprised if they were anything less than good. At £59 these small batches are certainly bringing decent value for money, with Glasgow not feeling the need to elevate the price even when these small batches are, occasionally, from a single cask.
Other distilleries charge a premium for limited releases and single casks and I think Glasgow needs to be applauded for not following that path, even when it’s an epic milestone release such as this. We’re onboard.
Here’s to the next ten years and beyond!
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. RT
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