Glasgow Oloroso 7yo Distillery Exclusive
Virgin Oak & Oloroso | 60.9% ABV
Score: 9/10
Exceptional.
TL;DR
It could be the memories, but this is my best of 2025 so far
Reality becoming real
I’ll be relaying stories from my trip to Glasgow in upcoming reviews, but before I have fun relaying the events of my trip I must first speak to the blessing of having reality become real.
As regular Dramface readers can easily surmise, it takes quite a bit for me to be quiet. And yet, here I am on my plane ride home sitting in silence – and I’ve been doing so for more than an hour since leaving Reykjavik (an interesting airport where we had a connecting flight from Glasgow on our way back to Washington, DC).
My wife and I are returning from our travels to Scotland where we spent time in Glasgow, Pitlochry, and Edinburgh. We are already planning our next trip to Caledonia, but as we do, I’ve been processing the wonderment we experienced in Glasgow.
The bond I have with my fellow Dramface colleagues is immensely - and quizzically - strong. I say “quizzically” as, prior to this trip, I had never been in the physical company of any of the thirty-odd writers and contributors to this site. Never.
The majority of the Dramface crew hail from the UK or Europe. We have one or two in Asia and elsewhere, while I am one of five in North America, and only one of three in the United States. For three years I have communicated with my fellow Dramfacers through WhatsApp, podcasting software and the occasional Zoom. But, again, my reality and bond have been built through electronic means. I have always looked forward to the day I’d meet these gorgeous souls and actually be in the same room together. Those desires have been with me from the start of my writing here – three years already.
So, what happens? What is the feeling when reality becomes real?
Prior to my trip, I had sent out a message in our WhatsApp chat telling anyone who might be in the greater Glasgow area to come meet up for dinner, drinks, or a good chat. It’s one thing to have a thought of what it would be like, and an entirely another experience to be in the company of these admirable people with whom I’ve bonded.
My wife and I landed in Glasgow on a Thursday, and we did our exploring of the city for an afternoon and early evening. In the morning we went to Glasgow Distillery for a tour and tasting. I was giddy. There is no other way to put it. Giddy. Not only was I going to Glasgow Distillery to see and sample their wares – something I had been so very keen to do for years – but there were plans for later in the evening to finally meet up with a few Dramfacers for dinner and drinks. Yes, I’ll say it again. Giddy.
Tales of the distillery tour and tasting will be included in my next review, but I must mention it here not only because it’s from this distillery that I purchased the bottle that is the subject of review, but also because at the end of the tour I was distracted when I saw someone appear in the window of a door near me.
My eyes focused, and the person through the door’s window was our Captain Wally. What a surprise! I thought I wouldn’t see him for another six hours or so as we were to meet up for dinner. I jumped up as he entered the room, and with a big grin I hugged that brilliant man. It was a most surreal experience, after three years of messaging and a few Zoom chats. There he was. In the flesh, and no one could have wiped the grin off my face. I felt as if I should poke him to make sure it was real.
We chatted for a while at the distillery, and he graciously offered to drive us back to our hotel. I sat in his car as we made our way through the roads and thoroughfares and it began to hit me even more meaningfully that here I was actually in Wally’s company. No, this wasn’t fanboy syndrome (so what if I have a Wally tattoo on my arm?? Kidding!!) but seriously, I am not sure if anyone else has had this kind of sensation or experience.
It was akin to pen pals who’ve corresponded for years by letter and finally having the chance to meet up. Wally is as, quite frankly, to be expected; gracious, humble, and so very easy to chat with. All the while through the car ride back to the hotel it was a joy to chew the fat about all things great and small.
Arriving back at the hotel, we cobbled together plans for dinner with a plan thereafter to walk over to The Bon Accord for drinks. Wally then set off to tend to one of the twenty-nine irons he has in various fires, while my wife and I did some walking through the city. Wally would meet us back at the hotel lobby, as the restaurant would be a ten-minute walk – and the Bon Accord another ten-minute walk from there.
The appointed time arrived, and we went down to the lobby and met up once more, but I was also elated to see and actually meet our sub-editor Stevie and local Charlie Campbell. Two nicer and more wonderful people you will not meet. Dinner was a blast – breaking bread with Wally, Stevie, and Charlie was an absolute treat. Thereafter we made our way to the Bon Accord and after laughing and chewing the fat through a few rounds, none other than Drummond Dunmore joined us.
What an immense pleasure to meet Drummond. How is it possible that each and every one of these Dramface people are absolute treats? To a man, these colleagues and friends - of whom I had never shared the same physical space, were all so down to earth, so engaging, so charming, and so simply wonderful.
We sat and laughed and drank at a table toward the back of the Bon Accord. I would venture we went through eight rounds through the night. The whiskies were amazing; liquids that I would otherwise never come across absent a stray auction here and there. The ambiance and atmosphere of the Bon Accord that Friday night was so utterly special; anyone with half a brain could feel the history of the place and the special nature of that establishment.
Those items however, while special, weren’t what moved the dial that night. It was being with these special people. Actually being with them. I remember stopping myself at one point to look around the table to soak in the fact that, after three years aboard HMS Dramface, I was finally able to come ashore and actually shake hands with, tell stories with, and resonate with these amazing and lovely souls. Being in the same space had its own special quality. A truly special evening. One that I will not forget.
Whisky does bring people together. Yes, certainly, it does. And there is now talk of many of we Dramfacers coming from parts far flung from Scotland to converge for the Glasgow Whisky Festival of 2026. I sit here on this plane muted, but so wonderfully comforted, by the memories of that night in the Bon Accord. I know that when I return home and have the time to open the bottle I purchased from Glasgow Distillery, I will be toasting Stevie, Charlie, Drummond, and of course Wally. From my heart to all of you – cheers, my friends.
Review
Glasgow Distillery 7yo - Distillery Exclusive Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish, Double distillation / low cut, Virgin Oak and Oloroso casks, 60.9% ABV
£65 paid - (£78 including tax)
I am now safely returned back to the States after my travel escapades and the drive down to my corner of them in eastern North Carolina. A few weeks have passed and I can truthfully say that there hasn’t been a day since that Friday at the Bon that I haven’t returned to it in my head. And, as I said I would, this bottle purchased that morning at the Glasgow Distillery was uncorked with the thoughts to raise toasts to what were formerly apparitions; my electronic pen pals that I had the absolute pleasure to meet.
I uncork the bottle and the most amazing waft of sweet peat, sherry, oak, and orange oil fills the air around me. Admittedly, the bottle is not far from my nose, and I am not complaining at all about that arrangement.
As is noted on the back of the bottle, the Glasgow Distillery creates three different styles of single malt scotch whisky each year. These three types are: unpeated malt that is triple distilled with high cut points, unpeated malt using double distillation and medium cut points, and a peated malt using double distillation. The label also says “This is a distillery exclusive bottling, handpicked by our whisky making team and bottled in small batches.”
While the peated distillate is clearly present, I am not sure what casks – nor the percentages of each – were used to create the liquid before me. And, while I usually would like to know more details, the aroma coming from my glass makes me care less about blending details and more interested in getting on with the nosing and tasting.
Score: 9/10
Exceptional.
TL;DR
It could be the memories, but this is my best of 2025 so far
Nose
Smouldering logs from a fire pit. Bacon renderings. Citrus – an orange oil scent – is subtle but noticeable. Oyster sauce. Chinese spare ribs. At 60.9% ABV I am surprised my nostril hairs have not begun to immolate – to the contrary, the nose feels more like a 50% ABV dram. Vanilla pipe tobacco. Oak is unmistakable but not powerful. Rich, savory, and umami. This is a nose I can get lost in. So very well balanced and lovely.
Palate
Without doubt, this is the best whisky I have had this year, by far. Rich and savory and viscous. Tongue coating. The sweet peat is somewhat subtle at first and builds with a slight white pepper companion through the tasting experience. Vanilla flavored pipe tobacco mixes with stewed fruit. Plums and cherry pie filling. Vietnamese cinnamon. A hint of candied ginger. All is lightly – very lightly – enveloped by a buttery pastry. That stewed fruit, peat, and pepper finish goes on for days.
The Dregs
I could not have picked a better bottle for this moment. This bottle is spectacular. The highest rating I had ever given in a review was to a Bunnahabhain Moine PX that I purchased at the Bunnahabhain Distillery in 2022. That review was almost three years ago, also penned after I had been to Scotland. And, similarly, I have just returned from Scotland and am reviewing a bottle exclusive from a distillery I had visited. The difference? Almost £100!
And, speaking directly as to the liquid, my memory of the Bunna did not have the same depth that this Glasgow brings. This not only clears the Ogilvie bar of making time stand still: as I nose and sip, I become truly lost in the aromas and flavors here. It sounds like hyperbole but, I assure you, it is not. Simply the best liquid I have had this year – by far.
If you are able to get a bottle from the distillery, please do so. I am unsure of the outturn for this distillery exclusive, bottled on May 8th of this year. However, it is something that you (if anywhere near Glasgow) need to make an inquiry about at the distillery. This is a special thing.
With that, I remember a special evening and raise a glass. To Stevie, Charlie, Drummond, and Wally – it was my absolute pleasure to have had the blessing and pleasure to meet you, laugh with you, break bread with you, and to make reality real. It is something I will cherish through my days. Slàinte.
PS: And, of course looking forward to actually meeting the other twenty-six or so Dramface folk in the not-overly-distant future! OK, maybe not Ainsley . . . he’s still cross with me about my armagnac review
Score: 9/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. OS
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