During a live tasting hosted by @monnikdranken in the heart of Twente at the beginning of this year, we got to taste peated Glenturret new make. It was such a good spirit, that I wouldn’t mind them bottling this as is. I couldn’t get enough of it really.

A few months later, this peated Glenturret landed on our doorstep. This ten years old expression has matured on both American and European oak casks. With the new make freshly in the back of my mind, I excitedly grabbed my notebook and glass to taste it:

If you said to me that this is an Islay-whisky in disguise, I would have believed you. Laphroaig and Ardbeg mixed with a firm and fruity Highlander, that is how I would describe this to you. It’s a fun whisky to play with, adding water balances out the peat and makes it fruitier.

This whisky feels very mature and traditional, and that’s fitting for the oldest distillery in Scotland. It’s very welcome in an era of experimentation. Sometimes you just need something like this. Let me dust off my armchair, put on a vinyl record and pour me a good glass of this Glenturret. It’s THE whisky to do that with.