Thursday 18 September 2014

Glentauchers 1990 Gordon & MacPhail

First time, definitely last time

http://www.scotchwhisky.net/images/dist/gltch_dist.jpg

There are mediocre whiskies, there are bad whiskies...
Unfortunately we ventured back into the bad territory, with a whisky that for the time being has the dubious honour of being the penultimate single malt whisky on my list.
Only second to the Drumguish of the Speyside distillery, a harsh verdict indeed.

One could wonder why Glentauchers, being one of the most productive Scottish distilleries with a production of 4.5 million l/year and one of the main ingredients of  Pernod Ricard blends, has such a terrible reputation.

Well let's just dive in and ind out why I granted this poor score to this whisky.




The Whisky

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-2693.aspx

Nose: waxy and salty structure: apple buns sprinkled with cinnamon fresh from the oven, strong notes of caramel (disgusting, as if you can taste the colouring), some roasted chestnuts and a whiff of eucalyptus.
Mouth: sharp and bitter on the palate with notes of nutmeg, chestnuts, dour acorns and tea. Vegetable elements as well: endive and carrots with a few unidentifiable sour notes in the tail.
Finish: rather short, sharp and drying with a peppery edge.



The Verdict

While other describe this as a whisky that is rather weak on the palate,
I wouldn't use the term "weak" here as it could imply a lack of taste. And it surely didn't for a 40% whisky.
If I had to discribe the palate in one word I would rather use the term:"repulsing".
Good nose, bad whisky, thumbs down.

SCORE: 69