For over 100 years Glen Elgin has remained one of the most traditional distillers in Speyside so much so that their house style has become synonymous with the region. With much of the maltings still taking place in house, the key to their signature character that remains so in demand by blenders and inspires a cult following in the few that have been able to snatch up official releases in the past, is the long, slow fermentation and distillation, use of worm tubs for condensation as well as creating differing batches and rigorous cask management. What we get from the glimmers of whisky that have trickled to light over the years is a vividness and precision that combines complexity with balanced restraint.
Part of the Special Releases series, created from two different batches distilled in 1998 this 18yr old was aged in a combination of ex-bodega casks and refill European oak butts before being bottled at a natural cask strength. The release was limited to 5,352 bottles for the world and marks the third installment from this distiller in this series.
The whisky opens intriguingly with a flare of corn husk and damp hay before quickly moving into candied lemon peels and tell tale notes of sweet tangerine. It keeps evolving revealing layers of new notes with time including toffee, sweet leafy herbs and fresh sliced yellow apples and green pears. With even more time and a drop of water an underbelly of drying baking spice is paired with vanilla custard topped with coconut flakes. The palate is soft, round and medium-light with lemon bar, Darjeeling and chamomile teas, sea salt toffee and banana pancakes. Incredibly luxurious but balanced with an invigorating acidity at the back of the palate that does a tidy job of cleaning everything up and sharpening the focus of this dram for a finish that resolves into tantalizing notes of mulberry, nutmeg, butterscotch, white chocolate and a hint of white pepper. Definitely makes the case to see more of this malt making its way into bottle.