Watt Whisky Glen Elgin 14yo...

Watt Whisky Glen Elgin 14yo (51.3%): After a long period of silence tire-bouchon is finally back with new reviews... I am obviously behind, I have a lot of sampling and writing to do in a relatively short time but I am extremely happy to be sitting at my desk and tasting whisky again. I better not waste more time and get right to it... The whisky I chose to pour today is a 14 year old Glen Elgin from Watt Whisky's newest batch of releases. Glen Elgin is one of my favorite unsung Speyside distilleries among Glenlossie and Glentauchers. The fruity and weighty spirit they produce with long fermentation and slow distillation techniques and using worm tubs is extremely valued by blenders of Diageo for laying the foundations for the White Horse and Bell's blends of theirs and also sought after by independent blending houses like Compass Box. The whisky I have in the sample bottle is distilled in 2007 and bottled in 2021 from an ex-Bourbon hogshead yielding 312 bottles at cask strength.

Color: Oaked Chardonnay, bright straw, yellow gold color with thick and oily but quite quick legs around the glass.

Nose: Lemon curd, canned pineapple rings and banana flavored milk. Dry hay bales, dried apple rings and bread dough... Yeasty, reminding wild fermented geuze beers and also creamy and citrusy and sweet like smelling a huge slice of a diner style lemon meringue pie sitting on your plate before you dive into it. A few drops of water add some earthiness: Dry clay, wet sand and yellow grapefruit. Loving everything about it so far...

Palate: Citrusy, dusty and creamy... Lemon popsicles, lemon white chocolate cookies and a beautifully garnished G&T served in a balloon glass: Rosemary leaves, Meyer lemon wedges and juniper berries. Although adding water kinda dialed everything down to 70% it now tastes like a perfectly balanced blended whisky. Freshly sliced white peaches and apricots... I wish I had a pint of cask pulled IPA now to accompany this dram.

Finish: Medium long with banana flavored gums, peach juice and nectarines.

Overall: I knew it..! I knew that this whisky would tick all the right boxes for me. It's fruity, yeasty and slightly piney. Lemon zest, yellow grapefruits and underripe stone fruits. Creamy, thick and viscous but still distillate forward and vibrant. If anyone knows me well enough and knows how much I love ex-bourbon matured spirit driven whiskies they would understand what I am talking about here. Immensely enjoyed... Well, thanks to Kate and Mark Watt for the sample and a big shout-out for this cask.

Price: £65

91/100