Door number 9 delivers us a Boutique-y Glentauchers. Released around April 2016 it was amount the first bottlings released by Boutique-y that displayed an age-statement – a decision which the company has stuck with ever since.
Nose: Fruity and floral, sweet and spicy. Oranges, tangerines come together with sweet herbals of honeysuckle and a sprig of mint. Age is on display through a slight background dustiness, tobacco and some oily polish. Spicing is already prominent with ginger and nutmeg. A few drops of hydration brings out some barley water notes, and transforms the fruits from being sugar coated to feeling a little syrupy.
Taste: Good translation from nose to mouth with zingy sugar-coated fruits (oranges again and now joined by a scattering of red berries) being joined by honey, tobacco, ginger and some licks of salt at the front of the palate. More polish and varnish now – woody, but well integrated. The addition of water reduces some of the sherbet zing of the fruity elements and reinforces vanilla and oak. However, the experience is quite reduced texturally. Personally, I’d just crack on at 48.8%.
Finish: Medium to long (lengthening after a period of resting) with dusty spices and tart fruits.
Batch 2 of Boutique-y’s Glentauchers offered pronounced zingy fruit (especially orange) and a good application of spicing. A sympathetic, but relatively active cask has given the whisky some good aged notes, whilst allowing it to remain fruity and lively. I didn’t find it played well with water, but then it’s tasty stuff just as it is.