Glenglassaugh Evolution review

Glenglassaugh distillery was closed in 1986 but resurrected in 2008. After the distillery was reopened, they made Glenglassaugh Revival – matured in first and refill bourbon casks and finished for 6 months in first fill Oloroso sherry butts. Glenglassaugh Evolution is a limited cask strength release follow up to Revival.

Glenglassaugh Evolution cask strength whisky review

Photo by The Whisky Exchange

Bottled in 2012, Glenglassaugh Evolution is a 3 year old whisky matured in Ex-Tennessee Whiskey casks, that used to contain George Dickel. This expression was part of our local whisky society’s Speyside blind tasting. Whiskybase gives it a overall score of 81,71 (11/25/2015).

True UNDERDOG dram in our blind tasting

This dram turned out to be a Underdog in our Speyside blind tasting. Even though cask strength and un-chill filtered, the young age got us thinking that this one has to be a whisky under 80 points.

We started the tasting with Glenglassaugh Evolution, so the score might be even better if it hadn’t been the starter. Of course adding water made it much better, even if you’re in a blind tasting, you definitely can figure out a cask strength whisky. But one thing that stunned me, was the fact that this whisky is only 3 years old.

That’s why Glenglassaugh Evolution is truly the Underdog story.

Matured in:

Ex-Bourbon casks

Colour: Chardonnay

Nose: Light and green with fruits. Crispy berries dominate for a while. Adding water slowly brings a fresh sea air into the mix – straight forward, simple but nice nose.

Taste: Sweet with fruits, delicately crispy as well. Spices are present. Water makes the body much softer, bringing out some deep butterscotch buried at the back. Water adds some juniper berries too.

Finish: Very fast and sharp. Oak and nuts in a quick aftertaste.

Balance: Full bodied whisky, very enjoyable when thinking about the young age. Then again, the young age does show. I just didn’t expect it to be so young. An okay whisky, keep in mind – the score is still under 80 points, even though my review might sound more positive. Just bit of an positive upset in our local whisky tasting.