James Eadie Glendullan Tasting Notes

James Eadie Small Batch Glendullan 9 year old ‘The Black Swan’ 46%

Bourbon & Refill Hogsheads/ Cask No: 308284, 310477, 310480

Dist: 2011 Btl: 2021/ Tasted: Dec 2021

The nose is quite aromatic and estery wirth loads of sweet oak too. Hints of edgy barley, straw and butter. Late juicy apricot and pineapple.

The palate opens with some burnt caramel notes and toasty/ burnt oak. Hints of juicy fruit can just about be discerned but the oak pretty much obscures and bitters a little on the middle. Short, quite floral and perfumed finish. Overall it feels a little disjointed due to the heavy oak.

James Eadie Single Cask Glendullan 2009 (12 year old) 52.6%

First Fill Bourbon 306085/ Dist:2009 Btl: 2022/ Tasted: Apr 2022

The nose displays loads of sweet ‘Bourbony’ oak and sweet corn. Hints of sweet wood spice, honey and buttery vanilla appear, but no distillery character.

The palate is like the nose, very oak influenced. Loads and loads of ‘Bourbony’ oak and corn. No spirit character and continues in an oaky manor. Short, slightly bitter rye-like like finish.

Diluted the nose and palate is still very oak, but maybe there’s a touch of citrus and oily spirit now. Longer but still oaky and slightly bitter on the finish.

Douglas Laing Glendullan Tasting Notes

Douglas Laing Provenance Glendullan 2010 (8 year old) 46%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: PRV1394/ DL12679

Dist: Aug 2010 Btl: Sept 2018/ Tasted: Oct 2018

The nose is quite heavy and dense with malt, fragrant, youthful barley, oak, grass and citrus. There is pretty much no sherry character though.

The palate is straightforward with sweet barley, white fruit, malt and toffee. Good depth, if a little lighter than the nose suggests. Good length with acacia honey and earth in the finish. Again no sherry!

Dewar Rattray Glendullan Tasting Notes

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Glendullan 2000 (14 year old) 54.6%

Bourbon, re-racked into Sherry/ Cask: 9417/ Dist: May 2010 Btl: Jan 2015/ Tasted: Feb 2015

A nose of chunky, coffee’d sherry with plenty of herbal notes which display a light juniper edge. The sherry isn’t too overblown and it allows hints of white fruit and dusty barley to appear.

The palate is soft, opening with coffee-caramel and barley. It has a gentle sherry sweetness along with a touch of earth and developing tannins. Good length with the alcohol masking the finish a little but the lightly mentholated coffee lingering.

With water the nose becomes lighter and less sherry and herbal influenced. It also brings out a touch of succulent tangerine. The palate is a little vague to be honest and like the nose the sherry is diminished and. A pleasant hint of citrus of citrus comes through on the lightly sugar coated finish.

Glendullan Distillery Bottlings Tasting Notes

The Singleton of Glendullan Trinity 40%

Tasted: Dec 2013/ Jan 2014

The nose is quite gristy with barley and sweet fruit. Fairly dense with hints of spice, oak and light, earthy peat.

Soft and full on the palate with the toasty oak up first followed by a pleasant depth of sweet barley. Good length with the soft fruit and spice lingering. In conclusion: Relatively straightforward but pleasant.

The Singleton of Gledullan Liberty 40%

Tasted: Dec 2013/ Jan 2014

The nose is hard and brittle, with oddly perfumed barley and hints of herbs. Fresh and quite citric with a light industrial note.

The palate is a little watery with some lightly honeyed fruit and lightly creamy oak. Medium length with a mineral finish. In conclusion: Straightforward and a bit lacking in the complexity department to be honest.

Hunter Laing Glendullan Tasting Notes

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Glendullan 1999 (14 year old) 50%

Bourbon/Code: OMC2331/ HL10124

Dist: Oct 1999 Btl: Oct 2013/ Tasted: Nov 2013

The aromas are quite sweet, gristy and citrusy with green apple, grass, dusty spice and vanilla notes.

The palate is soft and vanilla’d with crunchy barley, apricot and apple. It has a lovely rounded mouth-feel and plenty of sweet spice. Good length with a touch of bitter chocolate on the finish.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Glendullan 2002 (17 year old) 50%

Bourbon/ Code: OMC2918/ Dist: Jun 2002 Btl: 2019

Tasted: Oct 2019The nose is deep and malty with fragrant baked apple, hard barley, lime, vanilla and earth. Very dense!

The palate has a lighter feel and is not as malty as the nose suggests. Oily but not overly industrial  barley, baked apple and vanilla oak. Good citrus middle and a long, malty and slightly acerbic finish with lingering greengage and minerals. In conclusion: It’s certainly not dull.

Scott’s Selection Glendullan Tasting Notes

Scott’s Selection Glendullan 1981 (19 year old) 55.5%

Bourbon/ Dist 1981 Btl 2000/ Tasted: July 2004

A light, fresh, elegant, bourbon oak dominated nose. Slightly floral with a sweet edge and a touch of buscuits, earth and pine. A full palate with plenty of pale fruit flavours with an incredible spiciness which builds to a crescendo on the middle along with hints of bourbon oak and salt. Lovely length with the spices lingering.

James MacArthur Glendullan Tasting Notes

James MacArthur ‘Old Masters Cask Strength Selection’ Glendullan 1997 (12 year old) 56.1%

Bourbon Barrel 5059/ Dist: 2007 Btl: 2009/ Tasted: July 2009

An earthy, straw like nose, just on the right side of murkiness. There’s a hint of cereal, barley, honey, grass and perfumed flowers along with some balancing vanilla oak On the palate it is softly oily with hints of apricot and honey. A bit simple with quiet a lot of tannins. Good length with hints of malt, cereal and earth.

Water emphasises the earthiness on the nose and homogenises the palate. Nothing wrong with this bottling but it’s just not particularly exciting.

James MacArthur ‘Old Masters Cask Strength Selection’ Glendullan 1997 (12 year old) 56.1%

Bourbon Barrel 5059/ Dist: 2007 Btl: 2009/ Re- Tasted: May 2010

A very acetone and botanical dominated nose. It develops floral notes along with lanolin coated oily orange fruit and earth. A distinctly odd nose. Oily with light vanilla-orange fruit and no shortage of botanicals. Very piquant alcohol leads to a grassy finish and a light lanolin coating after taste.

Water removes some of the acetonearomas and emphasisies the floral notes but there’s no escaping the lanolin. On the palate it has become very sugary with a touch of white-floral fruit. It seems to give an impression of depth but frankly flatters to deceive. Unexciting and Ephemeral, an acquired taste to say the least – Is this really what Glendullan is like? My only previous experience of this distillery was a Blackadder sherry monster with not even a shred of distillery character present.

Douglas McGibbon Glendullan Tasting Notes

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Glengoyne 2007 (7 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Code: PRV1134/ Dist: Mar 2007 Btl: Apr 2015/ Tasted: Jun 2015

A little feinty and hard with toasted biscuits and cereal. Oily and slightly cardboardy with hints of earth.

The palate shows some softer barley and cereal with a touch of apricot and citrus. Medium length with the youthful oily notes lingering along with the citrus and barley.

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Glendullan 1999 (11 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: PRV0708/ DMG7191

Dist: Oct 1999 Btl: June 2011/ Tasted: June 2011

A pleasant, easy going nose of sugar coated herbal honey and white flowers along with some spicy oak and a touch of high toned cereal. The palate begins quite sugary, followed by sweet malt and a hint of oat biscuit. Relatively straightforward but pleasant with a touch of herbal honey and citrus. The alcohol bites and cleanses leaving a lemony finish.

Blackadder Glendullan Tasting Notes

Blackadder Raw Sherry Cask Glendullan 1994 (11 year old) 58.7%

Bodega Sherry Butt/ Dist Dec 1994 Btl Feb 2005/ Tasted: Apr 2006

Incredibly oily aromas hit you light a speeding train with waves of raw, young sherry fruit which has a slightly creamy edge and a touch of white chocolate and sweet spices. Rich and succulent on the palate with the raw sherry, well roaring at you. Quite spirity with sweet spices and coffee.

This is the epitome of raw without a drop of water. On the nose it tames and emphasises the white chocolate, dusty spices and oily vanilla note. On the palate it brings out a chocolaty/ mocha/ coffee note, taking the edge of the spirit and allowing a delightful toasted caramel flavour to appearalong with gin like botanicals and a touch of seaweed on the finish. If you love your sherry cask young, unfettered and wildly exuberant, then this is your baby!