Glen Garioch - Founders Reserve - Tasting Notes

Nose
Bit musty and closed at first, a bit new make roughness. Then some ginger and old dirty leather appeared. This one is giving me a hard time to read.

Ok. lets warm it up a bit more, and give it some time. The some notes of green apple, cranberry, gooseberry, grapefruit and vanilla appear.

With some water added it softens a bit and becomes more sweet and almost floral. More sweet fruit notes and vanilla come to the front. The hard edge softens and the heavy leather feel from before goes to the back. But it stays with a bit a "rough" feel to it I find.

Palate
Raisin, some spice, vanilla, bit metallic edge, some chocolate sweetness, ginger, dark fruits, grapefruit, orange, green apple. There is some honey, fudge and bit bitter nut note. Also some dry spices...

With some water added the sweetness and fruitiness comes more to the front just as on the nose. It has a little bit caramel bitter combined with green apple and citrus notes. It stays a bit metallic, maybe a bit "clean" if can call a whisky that? There is a mouthfeel that stays like you have drunk out of a metallic soda can and there is a rough feeling left on your teeth.

Must say, like it much more with some water, becomes more a mix of citrus fruits and an array of berries mixed with vanilla.

Finish
The medium length finish has a bit a feel to it of old oude cheese. Sweet dried fruits, apple chutney and a good cheese platter. Bit weird but it works.

Score
The combinations coming to the front on the nose, palate and finish look to be balanced and in my mind I want to reach out to a good cheese platter with some dried fruits and maybe some chocolate and berries.

That for me is a good thing, I like to be able to enjoy a dram with some nice food. The question I ask myself when trying to score a whisky is "would I jump up and run to the store to buy a bottle directly?" And that is always a tricky question I find.

This one is nice to have in the house for the combination with food. But my score at the moment is a 7 out of 10. Something to keep an eye out for, and something to come back to for sure, and have another go at. Maybe if the metallic/rough feel is something that disappears, could be something I ate or so, you never know, but then the score could be higher.

Glen Garioch is definitely something that needs to be explored more, I have tried too little of them to be honest to make a good comparison, time to change that... Let the exploring continue! :-)