Glenturret 30 Year

Oh Glenturret, you let me down with your last 30-year offering, which had 43.3% ABV and cost around $400. Now I have a sample of your 2021 30-year release, bottled at 41.6% ABV and priced at over $1700. With such a price increase, you must be very confident in this either being outstanding scotch or perhaps a cleverly marketed product designed to drain the wallets of the gullible. Let's find out. The aroma begins with a blend of old, dusty leather-bound books, slightly tart tropical fruits, and toasted marshmallows, followed by light florals, subtle flinty minerality, and dark chocolate-covered almonds. Then come notes of tangerine, caramelized peaches, and pineapple, leading to anise, cardamom, and polished antique furniture, with minimal alcohol burn. The taste has a thin texture, starting with creamy tropical fruits, followed by a moderate bitter spice that quickly fades to dusty old leather-bound books and toasted marshmallow. Next are honeysuckle, subtle flinty minerality, and dark chocolate-covered almonds, then slightly tart fruits like tangerine, candied lemon, and lychee, transitioning to light baking spices and mildly bitter black tea, with minimal alcohol burn. The finish is short, beginning with creamy tropical fruits and dusty leather-bound books, fading to light baking spices and mildly bitter black tea. This is definitely an improvement over the previous 30-year release; the well-aged oak notes are prominent but don't overwhelm the enjoyable, slightly tart citrus fruits and unique spices. Unfortunately, the thinness, likely due to the low ABV, prevents it from being exceptional, which could have been achieved with a higher proof. Overall, it's an easy-drinking, well-aged dram. However, I question why one would choose this over something like a Johnnie Walker Blue for around $250 to get those dusty notes; personally, I find the Blue to be superior.

The aroma begins with a blend of aged leather-bound books, moderately tart citrus, and light powdered sugar, followed by prunes and dark chocolate cocoa powder, then fruits like grapefruit, red grapes, and apricot. It transitions to anise, cardamom, and polished antique furniture with a slight ethanol burn. The taste presents a thin mouthfeel, starting with a mix of aged leather-bound books, golden raisins, and light powdered sugar, followed by prunes and dark chocolate cocoa powder. It then moves to fruits such as lychee, apricots, and sour apple, transitioning to powdered ginger, cardamom, and ashy oak with a mild ethanol burn. The finish is brief, featuring golden raisins, cocoa powder, sour apple, lemon zest, cloves, and ashy oak. Unfortunately, this is another instance where age doesn't necessarily equate to superiority. While it does offer some enjoyable aged oak notes, the aroma is dominated by overly sour fruits and an earthy, chalky flavor that carries over to the taste. The sour notes are intensified there, coupled with a watery mouthfeel. Fortunately, the finish is short, quickly dissipating those sour and chalky elements. These bottles appear to be priced around $400 at Fine Drams, which seems reasonable compared to the exorbitant $1800 at TWE. At either of those prices, this is an easy pass, and I'm grateful to have only sampled it, as I would much rather acquire other Scotches priced under $100.

The 2024 bottling. Aged in a blend of Oloroso, PX, Port, and European Oak, it is exceptional. I managed to get one of the final VIP hour whiskyfest pours from a sample bottle. It's brimming with notes of Raspberries, Dark Chocolate, Toffee, Blackberries, Cinnamon, Christmas Cakes, Grapefruit, Marzipan, Date Syrup, Cloves, Ginger, and Candied Oranges.