A couple of weeks ago I was very kindly invited to taste some interesting spirits from @preciousliquors’ lineup. Precious Liquors themselves aren’t strangers to bottling some fantastic rums, such as the 98 Caroni bottled for Lime House, and the 94 New Yarmouth that was co-bottled with Malt Grain Cane. This time round, I was able to taste some of their other spirits, including this delicious 5-year-old Glenglassaugh that was bottled by @claxtonsspirits exclusively for Precious Liquors themselves.

The Glenglassaugh distillery is located at the north-east corner of Scotland, near the fishing village of Portsoy, and is generally considered as part of the Highland region that produces single malts that are light, floral and fresh, all the traditional traits of Highland malt that makes me love them so.

Now I do have to put out there that I’ve never had Glenglassaugh’s official bottlings, and thus the distillery’s character is completely unbeknownst to me. Therefore, I’d be tasting this from a blank slate, without being able to relate back to what they might originally be. But one thing is for sure, this isn’t one of those peated whiskies that have recently been introduced into Glenglassaugh’s range. Instead, it is what I would refer to as a real sherry bomb, having been fully aged for five years in a first fill Pedro Jimenez hogshead, and bottled at cask strength of 57.7% abv with an outturn of 300 bottles.

The nose was, as you would expect, overwhelmingly rich, decadent and round, purple fruits come to mind, perhaps dried prunes and raisins, a bit of those musty or earthy notes, and just a touch savoury, all hallmarks of the dominant sherry-influence. You do get those light florals, perhaps even a bit of those hay notes, but very much subdued in this instance.