Glenugie 1959-1981 vintage 18-32 years old x 11 H2H

[lincoln imp]

In the pantheon of losses to the whisky industry due to closure, Glenugie was and still is a sad loss. I generally class the best of the closed distilleries in this order Brora, Glenury Royal and Port Ellen with Glenugie and Glenlochy just a little behind, yes there have been some excellent bottlings from both these distilleries, but in the main, independent bottlings were not as consistent.
There have only been 3 official releases of Glenugie and the oldest vintage of those 3 was from 1977. I had a bottle of the 1980 Deoch an Doras 30 year 52.13% and thought it was very good with a score of 91/90/90 but on reflection perhaps I was a little generous with my marks. I Believe the 1977 Deoch an Doras is generally accepted as being better?
I have tasted 7 of these offerings before and in a sherry cask Glenugie is right up there quality wise.

H2H is an ideal way of testing quality in a distillery but sadly for me there are a few exceptions in this line up that would have made this an A Star H2H.
The exceptions are two that I have tasted before which were
1966 30 year 58% Signatory cask 848,
1973 27 year 54.6% Signatory cask 6542
I scored them both at 93 points.

There are also two that I would like to have seen here which are:-
1966 30 year cask 62.4% cask 856 The Bottlers, and the
1977 32 year 55.48% Deoch an Doras OB,I Believe the 1977 Deoch an Doras is generally regarded as being better than the 1980?

The bottles I have tasted before will only have a brief tasting note, the new ones will be a little longer.

The line up tasted in this order

1959 18 year 80 proof Cadenhead dumpy
1966 31 year 53.9% cask 4082 Signatory Silent Stills
1966 20 year 55% Duthies for Samaroli
1967 21 year 59.5% Sestante bird label
1968 20 year 54.8% Sestante bird label
1976 27 year 51.1% cask 2700 Signatory Vintage Collection
1977 29 year 49.6% cask PDA 360 Part Des Anges
1977 32 year 58.6% cask 1 Signatory CS Collection
1980 25 year 47% SMWS 99.10 Complex & Intriguing
1981 24 year 61.8% cask 5515 Blackadder Raw Cask
1981 22 year 58% cask 5156 Duncan Taylor

Result with scores for Nose/Palate/Finish[u]
It was no surprise to me that the 1967 Sestante 59.5% won but only by the smallest of margins from the 1966 Duthies.

1967 21 year 59.5% Sestante bird label - 94/93/93
1966 20 year 55% Duthies for Samaroli - 91/93/94
19660 year 54.8% Sestante bird label - 90/91/93
1959 18 31 year 53.9% cask 4082 Signatory Silent Stills - 91/92/93
1968 2year 80 proof Cadenhead dumpy - 90/91/91
1976 27 year 51.1% cask 2700 Signatory Vintage Collection - 90/91/90
1981 24 year 61.8% cask 5515 Blackadder Raw Cask - 90/91/90
1977 32 year 58.6% cask 1 Signatory CS Collection - 88/90/91
1980 25 year 47% SMWS 99.10 Complex & Intriguing - 87/86/86
1981 22 year 58% cask 5156 Duncan Taylor - 87/86/86
1977 29 year 49.6% casl PDA 360 Part Des Anges - 84/85/84

Re taste no 1of 11
1959 Cadenhead (tasted before), my very last sample 90/91/91
A delicate nose of white fruits, hint of pineapple & honey, faint ginger, hints at good balance.
The palate has a nice attack with a battle between the sweet fruit & honey and a not so sweet cereal note but the balance is very good and better than I remember.
On the finish there is an icing sugar sweetness about it with some fresh pineapple and a hint of lemon mixing well together, not powerful, just elegant and how I like my whisky.
Great mouthfeel on this.
The only other thing to say about this 1959 Glenugie CA is that the most stupid thing regarding whisky I have ever done involved a bottle of this and today, it is still my biggest whisky regret and mistake all rolled into one.
One of the few times I actually sold a bottle of Scotch and it was this very bottle,was about 7-8 years ago when I had to pay for two lots of car insurance, a very very bad decision.
The regret is not what it could be sold for now because I only buy to drink, it is just that I have realised that they are pretty rare and I would have been far better off just drinking it, but needs must I suppose?


1966 32 year Signatory Silent Stills 91/92/93
Nose
Quite full on at first, there are white fruits but they are in the background with a big cereal note taking centre stage. Fruit wise there is green apple, but the overriding note is mango and a faint cherry menthol note.There is a faint strange note of burning damp leaves kicking about, you know that smoke like hell on a bonfire. This nose has some depth to it.
Palate
Plenty of fruit , apple, lemon, pineapple but not particularly sweet and then a lovely stewed fruit comes in , an exotic fruit. The sweetness increases with some oat notes coming in and something a little minty which is really nice.
Spices seem to kick start things on the half way mark, and then it explodes mixing with rich juicy fruit, lip smacking.
Finish
Oh what a finish, the best part so long, not in your face just fades gracefully on a spice fruit combo

With a splash of water the spice and fruit explode and are even better, a truly lovely whisky.

1966 Duthies for Samaroli 91/93/94
Nose
it is a stewed fruit salad bowl of nose we have here and very nice it is too.
Very, very strange note of distant cheese here, like Dutch Edam?, can't be?
No it is just the fruit fumes playing tricks on me, phew!
The fruit is pineapple & mango mainly, with spices in the mix with a grassy cereal note thrown in.
Palate
Very sweet for a short time before a spicy pepper note pegs it back.
Fruit wise there is mango, pineapple faint peach skins and a hint of yellow gooseberry.
The fruit is halted too quickly for me by the spice maybe water will free it's shackles so to speak?
Finish
The finish is quite long with everything holding together until it fades.

With water:-
Not much change on the nose but water has released much more fruit, that takes over the spice note that was dominant when neat.
The balance is very good, the mouthfeel is very good and the fruit and spice are in harmony.


Re taste no 4 of 11
1967 Sestante bird label 59.5% - 94/93/93
The nose is out the top draw, just lovely, a symphony of aromas ( have you heard yourself).
Got a lid on my glass, I could nose this all day.
The palate needs water, too powerful neat but even then the fruit is lovely, the sherry mixes with dark fruits and a nice peat note, not in your face just elegant in the background.
A little water works really well, the balance is great , all the fruit is stewed together in one punchy burst, with the hints of sherry & peat in the background

You can sum this Glenugie by saying restrained power & elegance.

Re taste no 5 of 11
1968 Sestante 90/91/93
This is similar to the 1967 Sestante just not quite as good. It lacks a little sweetness and i think there is slightly more peat in this one, still faint mind.
If you add water the fruit increases but the spice is a little subdued, that said the finish is long and lingering.

Re taste no 6 of 11
1976 27 year 51.1% cask 2700 Signatory 90/91/90
Nose
The nose has a slightly cheesy note, I also got this in the 1996 RWD bottle.
White fruits of apple, a hint of pear, lemon rind and cereal notes.
Palate
Good mouthfeel with a prominent spice note that swamps everything else but the overall effect is pretty good.
There is apple, lemon juice, hint of lime, green apple skins, and hints of sponge cake.
There is some peat in the mix but it is the spice note that you notice and it is a good one.
Nose
Long & spicy with a lemon twist at the end


1977 Part Des Anges 85/84/85
The nose is shy, really shy, so much so that you are struggling to get anything at first.
After a few minutes you get stewed fruit but it is not particularly sweet with notes of waffles and syrup
Firstly the balance is not here and the fruit is on the bitter side so not a good start.
i think it needs water so here goes and yes it increases a little sweetness but not enough.
The problem here is balance and the lack of sweetness, water does release a decent spice note but not enough to make this interesting.
I got a little bored with this one and I never thought I would say that about a Glenugie.


Re taste no 8 of 11
1977 32 year 58.6% cask 1 Signatory 88/90/91
Nice complexity of flavours on the nose, quite rich on blackcurrant, and milk chocolate at first but then orange mixes with the chocolate and rich caramel.
The palate is rich and juicy on dark fruits stewed with a little apple not much sweetness because the fruit is ever so slightly sour, maybe that is a little strong and actually as you go on the sweetness increases and it gains in richness.
The finish is long and warming with a faint spice note coming in.
This is much better than I remember when I last tasted this 6 years ago, a rich sherried whisky.

Re taste no 9 of 11
1980 25 year 47% SMWS 99.10 87/86/86
Neat this is spicy but also quite bitter on sour apple mixed with a little sherry and it is drying on the palate. Considering this is only 47% it has some power with more fruit coming through as you go on.
With a little water the nose improves, spicy green apple biscuits sums it up nicely. The palate is much less sour now but still not particularly sweet.
Unlike the Signatory 1977 cask 1 this is not as good as when I last tasted it, also 6 years ago still pretty good but hovering around the 86-87 points mark now,
Not an easy Glenugie, needs more sweetness to get a good score, my palate is more sensitive to bitterness these days so not surprising the score has gone down.

Re taste no 10 of 11
1981 24 year 61.8% cask 5515 Blackadder 90/91/90
Powerful white fruit nose, apple crumble with a hint of cinnamon would best describe it, very nice.
The last time I had this I thought water was not needed, I was wrong, it is needed, just a little anyway, but the lemon, grapefruit & pineapple combo is really good and a good illustration of the Glenugie profile, maybe the best illustration in this tasting?
With water is is still fizzy, still has a lemon sherbert note, but more composed and full bodied, nice spice note, green apple and a little peat combine together to pack a really nice fruit punch that leaves the palate fresh.
I always struggled with Blackadder as a bottler because they seemed to get more share of rogue casks that in reality were sub standard but thankfully this is not one of those casks, very good.

11 1981 22 year 58% cask 5156 Duncan Taylor
Nose
Dark fruits & dark sherry is the order of the day here. There is a nice date note, mixed with damson jam, blackcurrants , blackberry and slightly burned treacle. There is also a little shoe polish in the mix.
Palate
Very rich, thick & chewy, almost syrupy.
The dark fruits are overshadowed by a spice note that is quite invasive and overshadows everything else.
Water is needed
Water releases even more spice, plenty of fruit, like an apple & blackberry pie but the spice dominates and is a negative for me, still pretty good, nothing wrong with it.
Finish
Long & spicy, almost too rich.
This old Glenugie is not a bad whisky, it just lacks balance to get a good score, still decent but the spice note overshadows everything else
_________________
Pour me a glass please.