Whisky Focus - Glenglassaugh Rare Vintage Cask Collection Batch 3 Review

Glenglassaugh distillery has unveiled Batch 3 in their Glenglassaugh Rare Vintage Cask Collection. This latest collection of 8 vintage Glenglassaugh single cask bottlings was distilled between 1965 and 1986 and was hand selected by former Glenglassaugh Master Distiller Billy Walker before he moved on to pastures new. The collection provides a rare glimpse into the history of Glenglassaugh and the 8 whiskies are likely to be the last Glenglassaugh expressions selected by Billy Walker who we already know had the knack of selecting some very special whiskies to be bottled as single cask bottlings.

As you can imagine you will need deep pockets to get hold of some of the older whiskies in this collection, having been lucky enough to have had the pleasure of some older Glenglassaugh expressions in the past including the outstanding Glenglassaugh 21, 30 and 40 year old expressions I would be confident that there will be some amazing whiskies amongst the 8 new vintage whiskies in this third batch of the Glenglassaugh Rare Vintage Cask Collection.

If your pockets are deep enough and like me you like nothing more than to taste a special new whisky at Christmas which you haven't tried before then take a look at the 8 new whiskies in the Glenglassaugh Rare Vintage Cask Collection Batch 3:

• Glenglassaugh 1965 50 Year Old
  Cask #3510 / Hogshead / 40.1% ABV / RRP £4,500
   
• Glenglassaugh 1967 49 Year Old
  Cask #1114-1 / Hogshead / 42.7% ABV / RRP £4,050
   
• Glenglassaugh 1968 47 Year Old
  Cask #2230 / Pedro Ximenez Sherry puncheon / 46.1% ABV / RRP £3,300
   
• Glenglassaugh 1972 44 Year Old
  Cask #1721 / Massandra Sherry / 42.4% ABV / RRP £2,400
   
• Glenglassaugh 1973 42 Year Old
  Cask #5638 / Bourbon barrel / 40.6% ABV / RRP £1,950
   
• Glenglassaugh 1975 41 Year Old
  Cask #1277-1 / Sauternes Hogshead / 50.5% ABV / RRP £1,750
   
• Glenglassaugh 1978 38 Year Old
  Cask #2343 / Pedro Ximenez Sherry puncheon / 42.5% ABV / RRP £1,150
   
• Glenglassaugh 1986 30 Year Old
  Cask #1393 / Pedro Ximenez Sherry puncheon / 42.6% ABV / RRP £310

Glenglassaugh Master Blender, Rachel Barrie, who has taken over Billy Walkers role at Glenglassaugh commented on the release, saying: "The eight casks bottled as Glenglassaugh’s rare casks Batch 3 are perfect illustrations of the distillery prior to mothballing in 1986. Aged in oak for between 30 and 50 years, each cask in the series has a unique profile shaped by decades of maturation in our coastal warehouses.

"Rare casks Batch 3 embodies the sweet and syrupy coastal character for which Glenglassaugh is renowned. From astonishing ripe tropical fruit and caramelised oak in the 1965 hogshead to deep dark fruits of currants, dates and sultanas in the 1968 Pedro Ximenez puncheon; and luscious wild honey, yellow pear and caramelised grape skin in the 1975 Sauternes barrique; each rare cask in Batch 3 highlights the hallmark traits of Glenglassaugh’s syrupy coastal sweetness, spiced by decades spent in oak, by sea and by land. These rare casks embody the richest elements of our motto ‘Per Mare Per Terras’ and I look forward to sharing these with whisky enthusiasts everywhere."

You will find the Glenglassaugh Rare Vintage Cask Collection available from specialist online whisky shops such as The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt
 

• UK Shops
   
• USA Shops
   
• European Shops

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