Side by side : A Glenglassaugh flight

Dating back to 1875 Glenglassaugh was been closed a number of times, it's most recent being for 20 years until it was reopened in 2008.

Let's find out a little more...

Glenglassaugh Distillery was built in 1875 by Col. James Moir in 1875 and ran with his two nephews until 1892, when it was purchased by  Robertson and Baxter and then on to Highland Distillers. The distillery was closed in 1907. The distillery was completely re-built in 1960 but mothballed again in 1986.

Photo: Aelyth Savage

In 2008 it was purchased by a group of investors who restarted production with Glenglassaugh Revival, the first whisky from the re-born distillery, launching in 2012. Evolution and Torfa followed shortly afterwards. The distillery was sold to the BenRiach Distillery Company in 2013 who were taken over by Brown-Forman (Jack Daniels) in 2016, they also obtained the GlenDronach and BenRiach distilleries.

A Porteus cast iron steel mash tun, with a copper dome, is used to make both unpeated and peated (30ppm) wash.

Photo: Aelyth Savage

Four wooden and two stainless steel washbacks ferment the wash for around 60 hours.

A single pair of Wash and Spirit stills use shell and tube condensers to distil a new make to around 69% ABV.

Photo: Aelyth Savage

Lets see what the whisky is like...

Dram	Revival	Evolution	Torfa
Characteristics	46% ABV Natural colour, non chill filtered	50% ABV Natural colour, non chill filtered	50% ABV Natural colour, non chill filtered
Distillery notes	The Revival is the first expression released from Glenglassaugh distillery after being mothballed for more than 20 years. The Glenglassaugh Revival has been matured in a balanced mix of ex-red wine and fresh bourbon casks, vatted and re-racked for double maturation in rich sherry casks. Revival is a stunning Highland single malt with a coastal charm. Nose: Sweet caramel and toffee with notes of nutty sherry, milk chocolate and honey. Ripe plums, red berries and oranges. Caramelised sugar and earthy, charred oak. Palate: Sweet, rounded and creamy. Oranges, plums, cherry and walnuts, chocolate, honey-mead, sherry and soft, spiced oak. Finish: Medium with warming mulled-wine spices, sherry and caramel.	Glenglassaugh Evolution is created by maturing the whisky in a unique combination of the finest hand-picked ex-Tennessee first-fill whiskey barrels. This expression shows great depth of character and finesse, a harmonious combination of whisky and oak. Evolution represents the heart of Glenglassaugh’s distinctive personality, and indeed the landscape in which it is set. Nose: A luscious syrupy combination of sweet barley, delicate pineapple and waves of soft buttery vanilla. Deeper oak spices and caramelised pear develop and warm the nose. Palate: Robust, white peppery oak floods through crisp green apple and freshly cracked barley. A gentle salted caramel emerges alongside hints of ripe banana and fruit salad syrup. Finish: A vibrant combination of classic oak spices and delicate soft fruits surrounded by fragrant waves of vanilla pod.	At Glenglassaugh, in addition to the traditional production, we also produce a very limited quantity of whisky using richly peated malted barley as the cereal varietal. The malted barley has been dried in the traditional way, over peat infused kilns, giving the whisky its unique smoky flavour. Glenglassaugh ‘Torfa’, with its peaty, phenolic nature, is a unique expression, and is quite different to the usual style of whisky produced in the Highlands. Nose: Vivid, sweet, sooty campfire smoke and sea air infuses zest of lime, apricot jam and ripe soft fruits; all gently warmed by hints of stem ginger and cracked black pepper. Palate: An eloquent, sweet coastal peat smoke engulfs candied peel over melon, pineapple and roasted red apples. Oat biscuits, hints of heather honey and a gentle cigar box spice all combine to give a terrific balance to the expressive smoky character. Finish: A heady, yet elegant, harmony of distinct coastal peat and striking spiced fruit flavours.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Light gold in the glass, swirls cling and fall as slow thick legs.	Very light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, slowly bead up and fall as sloe thick legs	Light gold in the glass, swirls cling, take a while to bead up and eventually fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	Cereal, honey and some floral notes to start. After a while there's some toffee and a little strawberry jam.	Similar to the Revival with cereal and honey notes, but with more vanilla oak and fudge and a little tropical fruit..	Full on bonfire smoke - slightly medicinal, a little heathery. There's a lot of citrus here too. Some tropical fruit and peppery spice notes.
Palate	Creamy arrival with orange and strawberry notes, a lovely ginger spice develops. A few more sips reveal some sweet honey - nice!	Creamy arrival with loads of spice - tropical fruit and vanilla custard - pineapple, banana, peach. Toffee and cinnamon add to the complexity- this is good.	Thick creamy arrival, dry smoke, maritime salt and tropical fruit notes - reminiscing of Caol Ila.  Lemon cheesecake and honey notes add to the complexity. Nice!
Finish	A nice balance of  honey and spice lingers.	Long lingering tropical fruit and ginger spice.	Lingering dry smoke and citrus.
Overall	You can see the development of the Glenglassaugh spirit from the Revival to the Evolution - there is different maturation which obviously alters the tasting notes but the complexity increases and it's really rather good. The Torfa is just completely different - the peat adding smoke and maritime notes that  suggest an Islay whisky. For me the Evolution is the one to try and I'm looking forward to the future releases from Glenglassaugh.