100º Proof Exceptional Cask Series | 57.1% ABV

A Dram of Christmas Past

Your memory can play tricks on you. It’s not always a reliable receptacle of past experience.

And while you could be forgiven for thinking that I say this because I’m now in my early sixties, in truth, memory has always been distorted by subliminal preference, emotional bias or simply a kind of self-preservation that tones down some of the unpleasant memories over time, while amplifying the good ones.

Many remain constant and consistent, readily called to mind. Others though, can apparently fade and conceal themselves until brought to mind by some unexpected prompt.

One such hidden memory is of what I now realize must have actually been my first taste of scotch whisky.

Until now, my earliest memories of drinking scotch was when as a young teenager I used to steal illicit slurps from my Dad’s Teacher’s Highland Cream (per my original confession in this double Indie Ardmore review). I’ve confidently declared this to be my first embrace of both scotch and hard liquor. I’ve even set about finding a Highland Cream from the 70s as a means of exploring just what it was that I was sampling (and when I track one down, I’ll review it here - not that anyone is going to rush out and buy it).

But the memories stirred by the whisky I’m reviewing here have managed to surface the recollection of my true first taste of Scotch, which was from among the boxes of chocolate liqueurs that my older brothers and I used to receive as Christmas presents in the 1970s.

Admittedly, tasting Scotch encased in chocolate was hardly giving me a pure expression of the distillers mastery of alchemy, but I was young, it was free and the whisky involved wasn’t exactly top notch. And there was chocolate involved for God’s sake.

I should stress that even though I remember unwrapping boxes of these tiny, booze-filled confections at a ridiculously early age – definitely ten and maybe younger – it wasn’t because my parents were training us to become prolific underage drinkers. It was just the ‘70s. And things were different. It was the era when under-age drinking was technically frowned upon, but also generally accepted as long as you didn’t become annoying.

It also probably had something to do with the fact that if they gave these boozy choccies to my two older brothers, then it was easier to give them to me too, so that I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out.

Anyway, for those that don’t recall – or who have simply never encountered them – these things came in garishly decorated boxes of about 12 or 24 mini chocolate “bottles”, wrapped in shiny foil and labeled with their respective brand labels.

In my day, strange and exotic concoctions like Bol’s Advocaat, De Kuyper Cherry Brandy, Galliano, Kahlua and Drambuie would sit alongside the likes of Martell Cognac, Famous Grouse, Bell’s, Canadian Club and Southern Comfort. Looking online, I see that most of these still seem to be available today. I’d have thought this whole concept would have been consigned to the dumpster of history by now, but it seems somebody somewhere is still buying the stuff!

*An Anthon Berg branded liqueur selection from webbsdirect.co.uk*

The reason I find myself thinking about these little chocolate booze bombs (which I’m sure tasted even worse to my pre-teen palate than I recall), is because the whisky under scrutiny today has propelled me back to the family Christmases of my youth. Not just the tastes and aromas, but the whole mash-up of experiences and rituals that defined Christmas for me and many others in the UK of the 1970s.

Everything from the paperchains and cheap shiny ornaments hanging from the tree, draped across the ceiling and from every shelf available. The open fire that kept us warm because the heating was knackered. The glasses of port and sherry that my Mum would drink at this time of year and almost no other. New vinyl records opened on Christmas Day, along with satsumas and toffee in the stocking, watching Morecambe and Wise after dinner, Christmas Pudding, and carol singers at the door who we’d politely listen to while my Mum worried about all the heat that was rushing out into the street in exchange for the frigid air that swapped places with it. And so much more.

Good times. Innocent times.

Boozy times.

And that’s what this whisky took me back to.

Review 1/3 - Nick

Glentauchers 16 year old, Signatory Vintage Exceptional Cask, 100º Proof Series, matured in first-fill Oloroso butts, 57.1% ABV
£74 paid & wide availability at the time

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Christmas in a bottle*

Nose

There’s a lot going on here and the nose repays the investment of time. No sense in rushing it.

Right off the bat you get a depth and roundness on the nose. Somehow this suggests something unctuous and oily but also a little feisty and spiced.

I get black treacle with chili spice, and also a mash-up of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. There are some dark stewed fruits in here – plums, blackberries, black cherries. Sitting with it for a while and there are notes of sandalwood and a recently emptied cigar box. And freshly polished leather boots. Something pleasingly resinous. And engine oil.

There’s a freshly cut Christmas tree somewhere nearby and a waft of dark chocolate. Which I think is sitting alongside your Mum’s cherry brandy.

This is a bit like a decidedly alcoholic Christmas pudding before you cook it – with something spicy added just for shits and giggles.

Palate

At 57.1% this always had the potential to be spicy and a little hot on the palate and the chili on the nose definitely carries through. But it doesn’t dominate for long and for me it evolved into Golden Syrup sprinkled with pepper.

There are some underlying gently citrus notes – lemon squash and orange cream soda maybe. Possibly lemon sherbet.

There seems to be two distinct layers to this whisky. One is light and fruity and ever so slightly floral. There’s apricot jam on a buttered crumpet overlaid with loads of classically sherried notes – which come through from the other layer and it’s all about the notes picked up on the nose.

Cinnamon, clove, dates, marmalade, fruitcake, Brazil nuts and rich chocolate pudding. And the longer it’s in the glass, the more the chocolate comes to the fore, bringing a smidge of coffee with it. And a little of the oak.

A tiny bit of water rounds it out a little, but doesn’t really change the flavour profile. The chocolate notes go from dark to milk but otherwise I find it retains a similar balance.

The Dregs

As I said – this whisky is all about Christmas for me. If you tasted this blind (and blindfolded) it would take you all of a nano second to conclude that it’s sherry cask matured. And you’d probably guess it was first-fill too.

Arguably the sherry influence is a little heavy handed. Devotees of Glentauchers might feel it masks the spirit too much, but as it surfaced so many fond memories, I’m going to give it a pass for that. In truth, I suspect most people drinking this will probably be leaning into the sherry profile more than the distillery character as Glentauchers isn’t exactly easily found in the wild.

The spice is perhaps on the aggressive side (certainly near the top of the bottle) but it has calmed down a little over time and the addition of a tiny drop of water mellows things out a little.

All in all, this is a very respectable and enjoyable whisky. Perfect for soothing yourself and warming your toes by an open fire inside on a grey and damp winter's day. I’m not convinced it will form as lasting a memory as the Christmases of my youth, but it’s pretty good in the moment. And that will do nicely.

It’s been well received among my circle of friends and it’s probably not going to last long.

Score: 6/10 NF

Review 2/3 - Murdo

Glentauchers 16 year old, Signatory Vintage Exceptional Cask, 100º Proof Series, matured in first-fill Oloroso butts, 57.1% ABV
£74 paid & wide availability at the time

My wife has been longing to adopt a dog for the longest time, and because of circumstances in life, it’s not something we can do at the moment. It doesn’t stop her from stopping at pet shops adoring the cute little puppies that would flash stares back at her, almost as if to beg her to take them home - or at least that’s what she believes.

This bottle of Glentauchers has been doing the same to me, sitting at the shelves of my local whisky shop - Joe’s Whisky Shop - staring at me every time I visit, asking me to bring it home. I always tell myself that Glentauchers with its following, multiplied by Signatory Vintage’s reputation, is not going to be here next time I visit, but yet it stays on the shelf.

Last week when Broddy was showing off to the Colonials his recent haul of whiskies, the bottle of today’s review was part of it, and I thought to myself, now it’s time to pull a trigger, because sometime in the future we might be able to do a collab review. Little did I know, Nick had been preparing the preamble of this exact whisky for a while now and asked Broddy if he’d like to chip in, and I immediately barged in and invited myself into this collaborative effort, so here I am…

Score: 8/10

**Something special.**
***TL;DR***
*Very fairly priced luxury*

Nose

Warm spices, cinnamon, cumin powder, with a hint of cardamom, even a touch of curry; peppermint vanilla, caramel, wood spices, cherries, honey, slightly chalky; cedar, sandalwood, oak; I can probably keep going, the nose is so complex. I could be nosing this all day, there’s so much to it.

Palate

Dark and heavy arrival, rich dark chocolate, cherries and raisins probably steeped in rum, an assortment of berries is certainly present, as it develops, the menthol notes from the nose become more apparent, combined with the chocolate note, it reminds me of After Eight, there’s also a prickly black peppery cigar note; the finish is fairly long, with the cigar note lingering plus the cherries from the arrival too.

The Dregs

This is luxury in liquid form, at least perceived luxury, because it’s pretty fairly priced in my opinion. Somewhere along my exploration of whisky, I learned about a rule for Glentauchers: sherry young, bourbon old; I definitely agree with the latter half of that rule.

At 16 years old, this is sort of in the middle. I do feel that the sherry is a bit dominant, in the case of this whisky it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I might be asking the question: where’s the Glentauchers?

That’s not to say it’s not good whisky though, and it’s not going to affect the scoring, but I wish I had the ability to detect more Glentauchers-ness, just as I got a lot of the Linkwood-ness with the Linkwood of the same series. Nevertheless, this whisky is gorgeous and I can’t wait to get even more out of this bottle.

Score: 8/10 MMc

Review 3/3 - Broddy

Glentauchers 16 year old, Signatory Vintage Exceptional Cask, 100º Proof Series, matured in first-fill Oloroso butts, 57.1% ABV
£74 paid & wide availability at the time

Score: 5/10

**Average. In a good way.**
***TL;DR***
*Not much Glentauchers, this is all about the cask*

Nose

Pure dry oloroso sherry, albeit noticeably sweeter than the real stuff. Mound of cinnamon bite. Baked dates. Some brown sugar sweetness. This is a bit tight and hot in my opinion, especially on the neck pour but this tends to lessen with some air time in the bottle.

With a healthy splash of water, the cinnamon is toned down, making this more about the sweetness. Maple syrup and brown sugar still. Some Christmas cake vibes, albeit missing most of the orange and fruit notes.

Palate

Big cinnamon and pepper bite straight out of the gate. Despite being oloroso, I’m not getting much in the way of the oxidized sherry tones (nuts, etc). Raisin butter tarts with gramma’s secret ingredient of sherry tossed in for good measure. Very background orange oil and wood varnish. The finish is relatively long and a decline of the butter tart sweetness and the cinnamon tingles.

With a healthy splash of water, this tames down the significant cinnamon and pepper bite that usually leads the charge. This now drinks like a mega amped up Oloroso sherry, albeit still not as dry or as nutty as the real stuff.

The Dregs

I like Glentauchers. It’s a lovely gentle spirit, capable of some great flavours that usually start shining around 14-16 years young. But this whisky. This one is well and truly snuffed out. It’s gonzo. Sayonara. Adios.

Yes the cask was heavy on this one, and I think it is poorer for it. Objectively, this is a nice “hybrid” cask where it isn’t massively dry or nutty like some heavy Oloroso casked whiskies I’ve had and the sweeter tones keep your tongue from the massive 1-2 punch of spices and dryness. And perhaps this is where Signatory have landed on this being an exceptional cask as it provides more than meets the eye.

But while this may be an Exceptional Cask, this is not an exceptional whisky.

Score: 5/10 BB

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. NF

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