Glen Garioch 12yo
Official Bottling | 48% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A bit of an underdog, but this is a seriously good malt
Stumbling Upon A Rather Innocuously Stickered Stoater
Every time the office doorbell rings, it’s become the done thing for whoever answers the door to emit a strange anticipatory, “Ooooh.” This upward pitching sound carries with it a certain amount of baggage as my whisky obsession has become a bit of a running joke in the office. Do I talk about it too much? Probably. Do I enjoy banging on about the whiskies I enjoyed over the weekend every Monday? I absolutely do. But the one thing that’s become the butt of all jokes is the frequent arrival of sloshing cardboard boxes. Each time the postie arrives, the head radars are set to full spectrum analysis, awaiting the phrase: “Sounds like whisky to me.”
Granted, I did go through a ridiculous acquisition phase late last year as my interest in whisky reached orbital heights. A new box seemed to arrive every other day at one point, with each cardboard package containing a bottle or two of new experiences of smell and taste.
It’s one of those things in whisky that, when you sheepishly tell a whisky elder what you’re up to, a knowing smile and look says it all – everyone goes through an arms-wide-open phase of bottle snatching. If I could have bought every whisky release running up to Christmas to open and try, I would have. Luckily for my life expectancy, I don’t have the resources to do such frivolous things, so I made do with the bottles I could obtain within my budget. This still meant rather a lot of whisky in relative terms, but there we go. It’s my only hobby. That and reading about the Cold War. I’m a rent-a-fun party guest magnifico.
As we approached Christmas 2021, I blew my knee out during Thursday night five-a-side football, leaving me hobbling about for months before I was confined to painful physio rehabilitation and trying, where possible, to exercise. It’s startling how quickly your body expands when you can’t burn calories and won’t stop drinking whisky. On top of that, I also managed to catch Covid on Boxing Day, meaning that come mid-January I was in a sorry state of affairs. Thankfully, my smell and taste were unaffected and I really feel for those unlucky enough to get the full-fat version. My symptoms amounted to a sniffly nose and an intermittent cough. To pass the time between ice-bags and grimaced stretching, I turned to my bulging stack of glass in the garage. As well as the Bruichladdich’s Classic Laddie, I received from my red-headed micro-Santa, I also had an open bottle of Glen Dronach 15 going too – both rather tasty. I’d also popped a bottle of Deanston 12 before Christmas and was enjoying it enough that the bottle evaporated in record time. A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the moobs.
One of my door-opening work colleagues also gifted me a miniature whisky as part of the running joke. It was in a strange little box – craft paper with dark tartan edges, the words were hard to read and altogether a bit innocuous. When I messaged my colleague to say thanks, she replied saying she had no clue and hoped it was a good one. Diplomacy always wins the day, so even if it was crap, it would have been good. It did look decent though thanks to a surprising 48% ABV, while the bottle stated it was non-chill filtered. There was no announcement of added colouring, although Whiskybase does state it’s not natural. Almost the trio of tasty treats then.
“Highland malt that has become all too rare. The distillery- is on the road from Banff to Aberdeen, at the quaintly named town of Old Meldrum, in the sheltered Garioch valley, traditionally the grain-growing district for this part of Scotland. The distillery, founded in 1798, is a chunky, stone building that looks in parts like a village school.”
I opened the bottle on the night we sat down to watch the 2022 remake of Dune. A week prior, in preparation, I watched David Lynch’s 1984 original and managed to get through it all in three sittings. To say it was a trudge would be like saying World War Two was a wee skirmish.
Snacks in place, espresso martini in wife’s hand, whisky station set up, the play button was bashed and the opening credits began. I was quite excited to see what this new take on an 80’s piece of laboured psychedelic durge would look like, especially given the marketing hype surrounding this new one. And I’m a fan of Denis Villeneuve’s work already. When the title appeared and below it “Part One”, I audibly winced. The seal on the Glen Garioch 12 was promptly broken and into the glass the whisky did fall.
Review
Non Chill Filtered, Added Colouring, 48% ABV
£42 - abundant
Glen Garioch is a Highland whisky that was, for most of its 200-year existence, used in blends. The name, pronounced “glen geery”, is in reference to a stretch of land known as, “The Granary of Aberdeenshire” on account of it being fertile for growing crops. Glen Garioch, it transpires, used to be a full-complement operation; from buying neighbouring barley and operating in-house malting, to distilling and warehousing. It all happened on-site. A chequered history saw various exchanges of ownership, a few mothballings – one due to a lack of water source before a reopening in the early 70s’ upon discovery of a new “silent” water spring next-door – before being mothballed again in 1995.
At this point the Geery was a peated whisky. However, it was re-launched in 1997 as a new style unpeated whisky, enduring through the early noughties before being rebranded in 2009 into the aesthetic guise as we find it today. The current owners of Glen Garioch are behemoth Beam Suntory. The Glen Garioch website uses some really interesting statements, and is perhaps an indication of both the contentment of their place in the whisky sphere, but also making it clear they have no inkling towards changing. Phrases like, “Small but loyal band of followers'' are used in a self-aware appreciation of how under the radar their whisky is. They also pair all their expressions with various cheeses, which is quite unique. There’s faded tartan and faux-parchment textures in abundance, sepia photographs and wistful tales of “the old days”. This is whisky done with a theatrical head swoosh towards the past.
As a result, the label design leaves a lot to be desired and I wonder just how long it will be before a marketing exec gets twitchy enough to instruct a reboot. When it's placed next to the bright, beautiful labels of such malts like Benriach, Lindores, Bimber, Arran or any modernised whisky brand really, Glen Garioch looks like it’s been extracted from a mid-70’s Highland rambler’s retreat. The bottle shape and glass design is nice, but the labels are all craft paper and dark tartan, scroll writing and dark inks. It’s a bit naff. It could happily be at home on a bottle of craft gin or some home-brew orange liqueur. However, on a whisky bottle, it dates things drastically. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because up until I received that little miniature, I hadn’t even considered Glen Garioch 12 as a desirable malt. It didn’t stand out to me as worthy of investigation. Having now spent loads of time with it though, my opinion is a bit different.
Nose
Perfumed sweetness. The merest hint of peaty smoke. Sweet toffee beside a heathery purple scent and a rather nice stoney, bread-like maltiness. It feels as if there’s a salt presence here too, but I’m just not sure enough. There is a bit of restriction happening here, like we’re seeing a beautiful vista through a door ajar. A wee bit of water throws the doors open to reveal the full field of heathery delights. Orange chocolate toffee sauce. The now empty glass reveals a bit of brewery tang.
Palate
Very interesting arrival of spicy, tingly toffee that opens into that floral, honeyed note, which then segues to a sharper ripe green apple. It’s mouth coating and permeating. There’s an oakiness which is subdued but present alongside peanuts and very distant smoke. The finish is long and elegant – a friendly wave goodbye. Adding water loads up the palate with orange blossoms and rich citrus toffee. There’s the merest flash of, and I am tentative to use this comparison, Campbeltown oil paints. Dying drops pop mild chocolate niceness on the tongue. I prefer this whisky with a touch of water because it reveals the full orchestral complement of flavours hidden inside this whisky.
The Dregs
It’s surprising to me, given the typical modern expectation of business no matter what the trade is, to expand and grow and make bigger and better, yet Glen Garioch are content with just being. It’s fascinating to think this malt which is produced by one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries and, up until those over-aggressors BrewDog moved in, was the most easterly of all Scotland’s malt houses, is making such endearing whisky with no fanfare. There’s no indication they’re looking to become more popular and just going quietly about their day. Or are they?
The pandemic arrived in 2020 and Glen Garioch seized the opportunity to close their doors and start some housekeeping, with £6 million pumped into a full refurbishment of the distillery. This included a return to in-house floor maltings, a new direct-fired still and, in a nod to the changing times, a 15% reduction in their carbon footprint. It re-opened in March 2022 with little fanfare. There’s a slight worry that all this money will need to be recouped somehow and with owners Beam Suntory also in charge of brands such as Auchentoshan and Laphroaig – arguably tourism malts – one does wonder if the Geery might become a bit of tourist fodder too. It’s an integrity malt and I just hope that it doesn’t turn into watered down mince like so many unfortunate whiskies that cater to tourism palates – Mortlach 16 is a case in point.
The whisky that makes up the 12 year old is matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and is genuinely delicious. It’s moreish and manages to balance so many interesting flavours with ease. The official nosing notes mention things like, “heathery floral notes, poached pears and the sweetness of malted barley”, with the tasting notes proffering, “creme brulee, sweet ripe banana, light oak”. For once I recognise a lot of them – the heathery, floral notes in particular. It’s spicy, fruity, malty and sweet, yes, but there’s an overarching blanket of violets – not vegetal or herbal, but floral. To steal a method of visualisation from Phil and Deepa’s Whisky Mystery YouTube channel, the Geery 12 is all shades of purple. Adding water removes the blinkers from this dram and delivers more orange sweetness to the already enjoyable smorgasbord of purple delight.
So we approach the question we always face as whisky scrutinising anoraks: Is the price of this malt in harmony with the experience? As it stands right now, the Glen Garioch 12 year old experience proposition is a strong one. Drinking this whisky conjures visions of the weather-worn Highland hillsides on windy spring days, with the heather in full bloom and scotch broom, grass, leather, tobacco and many more nuanced wind-based things on the breeze.
A solo bagpipe plays in the distance and my patriotism rises up to an overwhelming swell of Scottishness, burning within my belly. I want to break into song. This is a really capable dram and, if you’re open to bask in a bit of Scottish twee, it’s perfectly poised to deliver it. I’ve enjoyed this far more than other age and price-relative whiskies of late. The Tobermory 12 didn’t hang with me like the Geery – a bit too edgy and sharp. The Glen Dronach 12? No competition – the Geery blows it out the water. Deanston 12 was compelling and a really good whisky, but I prefer the floral bouquet to the Deanston’s soft citrus bite. Glengoyne 12 is all boiled sweets and a bit one-dimensional compared to the Geery, and a big drop in ABV to boot. I think the closest whisky to it might be the Benriach 12, but even then it fades slightly in direct comparison. I just love the luscious flavour spectrum that the Glen Garioch 12 offers us. It’s a fantastic whisky to sit with and explore.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Beam Suntory keep things just as they are so the knowing few can continue to pilfer these sweet treats undisturbed by the prevailing winds of marketing garbage and speculation that we now see more of in whiskyland. I’m torn writing this review and scoring in case I somehow contribute to the awareness, and subsequent depletion of, this wonderful whisky. Luckily no-one listens to the auld fart rambling in the corner. Anyway, gon yersel’ Geery. As long as you don’t change a thing, you can count me as one of your small but loyal band of followers.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DC
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