Glasgow 1770 Small Batch 2026 - Triple Distilled White Port Cask Finish

Glasgow 1770's annual Small Batch Series throws up unusual maturation of the distillery's three spirit types.

This year there's a Peated Passito di Caluso wine, Double Distilled Amarone wine and this Triple Distilled White Port bottling.

Small Batches are by their very nature small, and allow the distillery to experiment with their spirit. This White Port release was from 2 hogsheads giving 730 bottles, if you don't get a bottle quick they'll be gone.

I'd tried this dram as part of a tasting organised by Karl at NEWAS, but buying a bottle allowed me to take my time and enjoy a few more!

Glasgow 1770 are very open when it comes to giving the details about their releases, most information is on the box and bottle and a little extra given on the website. For this release they say:

Introducing: Glasgow 1770 White Port Cask Finish

This six-year old limited edition bottling marries together two exceptional casks (19/1537 and 19/1538). Each of these casks has been double matured: first within first fill ex-Bourbon barrels that were filled on the 9th of December 2019 and left to mature for 4 years and 7 months until the 31st of July 2024 when the contents of these barrels were filled into premium White Port casks made from French oak. The whisky within lay maturing for a further 1 year and 7 months before bottling on the 16th of March 2026. 

Bottled at 53.3% ABV, and with 730 bottles available, this release is the perfect showcase of one of The Glasgow Distillery’s signature whisky production methods with a rarely seen cask finish. The bright, citrus-packed nature of the triple distilled spirit is perfectly harmonised with the delicate and sweet notes of runny honey, apricot, sweet nuttiness, and floral notes provided by the White Port cask influence.

Triple Distilled for a delicate flavour profile

Triple Distillation is a rare style of whisky making in Scotland. At The Glasgow Distillery, the team run triple distillation for 2 months of every year, the resulting spirit profile typified by its delicate, sophisticated, and smooth flavour profile. This is achieved not just by an additional third distillation within their small 1,500 litre spirit stills, but also by utilising a different strain of distillers’ yeast, MG+, within fermentation to create a citrus-forward and bright distillers’ beer.

After 72 hours of fermentation, the wash is moved into their 2,500 litre wash still for initial distillation before two further distillations within their small spirit stills. Within the third distillation, the team take a very high cut point of 82% - 75% ABV when capturing the heart of the spirit over three hours. The resulting new make spirit is further reduced to 63.5% ABV with soft Scottish water from Loch Katrine before filling into casks.

The resulting new make spirit is smooth, vibrant, and packed with notes of fresh orchard fruits and malty roundness. This style of spirit is perfectly suited to delicate and gentle maturation within casks such as ex-Bourbon, Calvados, White Port, and light-bodied wines.

White Port: Portugal’s best-kept secret  

White Port is a Portuguese fortified wine made from white grapes. Hailing from the famed Douro Valley, where production of Port started in the late 1600s, White Port is typically produced from native grape varieties which each add something different into the final blend.

Some of the most common include Malvasia Fina, which is a grape variety susceptible to botrytis rot and provides moderate acidity and intense nutty and spice aromas; Gouveio, which provides fresh vibrancy and aromatic qualities; Viosinho, providing a full-bodied stability with sugar and acidity balance; and Rabigato, which offers bright acidity and fresh minerality. 

These grapes are grown at high altitude for cooler summer temperatures, which protects the grape’s acidity and integrity but requires the grapes to be handpicked due to the steep terraces of the vineyards. Grapes for White Port are harvested earlier than those used in other Port styles, as the producer wishes to preserve grape acidity and floral qualities. These different grape varieties are blended in differing quantities depending on the producers’ desired final flavour profile and ageing requirements.  

White Port is a lighter style than red Ports, such as Ruby or Tawny, but only accounts for around 10% of all Port production in Portugal. Whilst some expressions of White Port are rested in stainless steel tanks for a fresh and fruity style, others are aged in oak for typically two to three years for added complexity with some expressions matured for up to 40 years to develop a more complex oxidative character. And, just like red Ports, White Port is fortified with brandy during production to halt fermentation which preserves natural sugars and raises alcohol content.

White Port can range from dry to sweet, depending on the sugar content left after fermentation, and characteristically provide notes of stoned fruits, nuts, honey, citrus fruits and apricots.

The casks used for this specific Glasgow Distillery release are 225 litre French oak hogsheads that have held White Port produced using Malvasia Fina, Viosinho, and Rabigato grape varietal for around 3 years.  

Release Breakdown

Cask Numbers:19/1537 + 19/1538

Spirit:Triple Distilled (unpeated)

Batch number:01

Initial Cask:First fill ex-Bourbon barrel

Initial Cask Fill Date:9th of December 2019

Initial Maturation Period:4 years and 7 months

Secondary Cask:White Port French Oak Hogsheads

Secondary Cask Fill Date:31st of July 2024

Secondary Maturation Period:1 year and 7 months

Bottling Date:16th of March 2026

Bottling Strength:53.3% ABV

Outturn:720 bottles (700ml)

Availability:UK + Export

RRP:£62

Distillery Tasting Notes:

Nose: Bright and inviting, opening with fresh lemon and lime zest. Crisp green apple follows, giving way to tropical layers of ripe pineapple and soft peach, all wrapped in a gentle, honeyed sweetness.

Palate: Delicate yet zesty on the palate, where floral notes of honeysuckle mingle with vibrant vanilla and runny honey and honeydew melon, delivering both freshness and depth.

Finish: Long and balanced, with delicate patisserie creaminess, sweet tinned peaches and a lingering lemon zest.

My thoughts:

Appearance: Pale gold in the Glencairn, swirls leave thin lines which bead up slowly and fall as slow thin oily legs. 

                               

Nose: Orchard fruit: pears, apples, peaches with a layer of honey and caramel - similar to the core range Triple Distilled but here we also have a big waft of citrus zest, some 'tropical mix' hints and a little mustiness.

Palate: Thick fruity arrival: peaches, pineapple, apricot and a bite of lemon zest. The lemon leaving a zing on the lips after each sip. There's some vanilla, baked apples stuffed with raisins, gooseberries and some marzipan. A little dry peppery spice as the liquid disappears. A little time and air adds caramel sauce and red berries.

 

Finish: Lingering apricot, lemon zest and a little peppery spice.

Summary: The Triple Distilled at 46% is my favourite of the 1770 Core Range - sweet, fruity and a little spicy - an easy drinker. This White Port finish builds on that adding layers of complexity and additional tasting notes - yummy! Along with it's sister Amarone cask finish this is going to make a great summer BBQ dram!

 

Geeky bit 1:

Glasgow 1770 distil 3 types of spirit:

Double Distilled - traditional pot still distillation with a medium cut point of 72-63 ABV

Triple Distilled - an extra distillation in the spirit still with a high cut point of 81-75 ABV giving a very light spirit.

Peated - traditional pot still distillation with a medium cut point of 72-57 ABV giving a 'thicker' spirit

All of the spirit is diluted down to 63.5% before being filled into casks.

Double Distilled have white cask ends 

Triple Distilled have white cask ends  with a picture of 3 pot stills

Peated have black cask ends 

Geeky bit 2:

The label gives us a little more information at the bottom:

This release is from Casks 191537 & 191538 : 2019 distillate into cask 1537 & 1538

TD indicates Triple Distilled

WP indicates White Port

2HH indicates 2 Hogsheads