Welcome back everyone! We hope you’ve had a great Christmas, and wish you all a very enjoyable 2010!
Over the festive season we’ve sampled a number of delicious whiskies – Christmas really is a great time for a good dram with some good company – and we wanted to mention one of favourite winter warmers.
At the time of writing, we’re surrounded by several inches of snow, and the thought of a little winter sun is rather appealing… Well, we present to you Glengoyne Glenguin 16 Year Old Shiraz Finish. A Highland single malt finished in Australian Shiraz casks for a touch of Antipodean joie de vivre!
The Shiraz casks come from the Glenguin wine estate in Australia’s Hunter Valley and it’s no accident that Glenguin and Glengoyne sound alike. It all began with Arthur William Tedder, born in Glenguin, Scotland to a Customs and Excise man at the Glengoyne distillery. Arthur was a pilot in the RAF during the First Wold War, as well as holding high command during the Second. After an eminent war career, Tedder was offered a peerage and became the 1st Baron Tedder of Glenguin. Arthur’s grandson, Robin Tedder, is one of Australia’s fifteen Masters of Wine and he also founded the Glenguin Wine Estate in 1988, which brings us back to the whisky…
To celebrate the link between the Aussie vineyard and the Scotch distillery, Glengoyne filled 20 Glenguin Shiraz casks with 16 year old scotch whisky in the autumn of 2007. The casks were carefully watched over until the spirit was perfected. Then, 10 casks were selected and bottled.
And the result…
Tasting notes for Glengoyne Glenguin 16 Year Old Shiraz Finish
Nose: All sorts of wonderful red fruits, centred around puckering, tangy red currants. All the time there are fragrant wafts of malt and blossoming violets and a sturdy core of baked apples with brown sugar and raisins. Absolutely exquisite…
Palate: The initial entry on the palate provides red berry compote, so tingling and spicy and very, very juicy. A little festive kiss of warm mince pies and then we’re onto rich, creamy drinking chocolate. There is a strong red wine presence, as the mouth feel becomes slightly more tannic as the whisky develops.
Finish: A fruity finish follows, still tingling and thick, but this time a trio of dark honey, sweet latte and warm pastries wash over the tongue before by a final fling of dry, vinous acidity.
Overall: Love this! Really distinctive.
As much as we enjoy wine finishes, they can be a mixed bunch. This, however, is proof that the practice can really work. Highly recommended.
The Chaps at Master of Malt.
Shiruki Hinako 
Shirayuki Misaka 
Robert Robotan