Càrn Mòr Glen Garioch 9yo
Strictly Limited Release | 47.5% ABV
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
Great Geery, but too similar to the OB12 to make it worthwhile.
What’s £55 when you’ve got all this flavour?
The Càrn Mòr brand is the indie arm of Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers Ltd, the new distillery of whom is based very close to me at Aberargie - the small site with green-clad warehousing and copper stills visible through the large gable end window remains closed to visitors.
You are allowed, if you so wish, to stand at the closed wrought iron gate and gawp as I did, but that’s it. Willy Wonka will appearing at noon, or the whisky being distilled at this place will appearing suddenly like a golden ticket adventure, is yet to transpire.
This particular bottling is from Càrn Mòr’s Strictly Limited range, offering a wide spread of regions, distilleries and cask types to whet your whisky appetite. The bottle presentation is ace - see my Whitlaw review - and this Glen Garioch follows suit. Despite what’s become a bit of a choresome trait, the threat of me waxing on about this whisky is mercifully low because the truth is, initially this whisky didn’t hit. It was sharp and uniform. Hints of the Geery character were present but it was obscured by tightness, a restraining element that wasn’t allowing the whisky to open up.
Aged nine years and derived from what I assume, given there’s no real indication, a single sherry butt, this bottling is presented just above what’s been adopted as the official enthusiasts baseline, at a pleasing 47.5% ABV - all the Càrn Mòr Strictly Limited bottles appear to be offered at this strength, single cask “Strictly Limited” expressions tied to shops or clubs are sometimes offered at higher ABV. No colouring, and no chill filtering to be seen anywhere though. Tickety tick.
Review
Càrn Mòr Glen Garioch 9yo, 47.5% ABV
£55 paid
It’s not until I reach the bottle’s halfway mark that suddenly this Geery relinquishes the tightness and opens up to exhibit the luscious, bready beauty that Glen Garioch so often manifests. The label speaks of bread and butter pudding, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and I can endorse them all wholeheartedly - there’s a prominent rich buttery sweetness to this dram. The identifiable purple fruit thread weaves around the other notes and my love for Glen Garioch’s character is satisfied with each sip. It’s got everything that the core range has and sits smack-bang central in what was expected of it.
Nose
Malty, bready. Purple heather. Bread & butter pud with choc nibs. Brioche, cinnamon, iced gingerbread. Petrichor. Sharp raspberry jam. A drop or two of water and this opens up really well - a lot more sweet bread pud and purple joy.
Palate
Bready pud. Chocolate brioche. Blueberries. Sweet perfume of freshly sawn oak - morphing into cedarwood briefly. Baking spices. A drop or two of water later, much more prominent malty sweet bread matching the nose, The wet tarmac kicks up a hint too.
The Dregs
Aye, it has the Glen Garioch character I know and love, with a little bit of watery wiggle room built on top thanks to the additional percentages. Despite clearly enjoying this whisky, I need to ask myself the important question that I guess we are all asking these days - does it offer enough whisky enjoyment for the price I paid for it? The Glen Garioch 12 year old core range is available for as little as £40. The showstopper Adelphi 11 year old cask strength AD/Venturer bottling which blew my little head off set me back £65, despite being very limited in availability and only to those in the AD/Venturer Club. However, the Cadenhead’s Odense 10 year old cask strength face blaster was won for £40, and routinely available at auction if you are interested. The Glen Garioch Tawny Port from Cadenhead’s Warehouse Tasting range was abjectly fantastic and won for £51 at auction; it too pops up quite often. Finally the core range Founder’s Reserve can be had for as little as £35, and certainly didn’t do much to disappoint.
This small catalogue of Glen Garioch has given me a good spectrum of reference points, all with differing strengths, cask types and ages. Does this nine year old Glen Garioch hold its own among the others, offering a different experience for the asking price of £55? Does it offer enough separation from the core range 12 year old to be worth seeking out instead? It must be said that the official core range bottling is coloured with e150a, falling short on one of the enthusiasts tick-box trio of 46%, non chill-filtered and natural colour. I personally don’t give a stuff about colouring, so long as the flavour is there, and it very much is with the 12yo. It must also be said that the official core range bottling is offered at 48% - higher than this Càrn Mòr by 0.5%. What’s in half a percent? Well, what’s in £15?
Flavour wise this Càrn Mòr 9yo is very similar to the official 12yo, going by my notes and memory of it - I don’t have one here to directly compare however, and the last time I sampled the 12yo was almost a year ago; a lot has happened since then. But price is price, and £55 in this moment of whisky excitement is not insignificant. Having now tried a fair amount of this, would I recommend it over the OB 12yo?
No, I wouldn’t. I love the bottle design, I love the whisky inside it, but if I can get a similar or higher whisky flavour experience for less, and my wallet is currently doing my bidding, then I can’t do much else than recommend you pick up the official 12yo for £40. If you want to turn the heat up and try a more potent example, head to the auctions and get a cask strength version, often found for under £50. As it stands, £55 is just a stretch too far for what is as near as dammit mainline Glen Garioch.
Score: 6/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DC
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