Glen Elgin 12

[kevin heatherington]

While it easy to see why people seek out peaty or sherry cask extremes in whisky don't overlook the best that Speyside has to offer.

it is a few years since I last had a Glen Elgin 12 but opening this I remember how much it works for me. It is all about balance around a cereal driven core. Nose has orchard fruits, cereal, light pencil shavings, fresh and clean but plenty of substance. To taste the cereal is there with light oak and a little chilli spice on the finish. Good oily mouthfeel even at 43%. This will improve over the next few weeks. A robust Speyside. Enjoying it.

 

[Thom Blach]

This will improve over the next few weeks.

Do you think spirits improve in an opened bottle, Kevin? I have had the curious experience of seeing an ancient bottle of Romanian Tuica, Dracula brand, evolve from being possibly the most noxious substance ever bottled into someting quite pleasant over a couple of years. I still wouldn't drink it but it's useful for cooking as a marc substitute.

 

[kevin heatherington]

They oxidise slowly and improve over several months. I don’t start thinking about what they are like until my second taste usually a week or two after opening. They will deteriorate after a year or two opened and in contact with air, especially if the level in the bottle by then is low. Collectors who have many bottles open over extended periods of time tend to buy a can of inert gas that can be sprayed into the bottle to reduce contact with air. I’ve not tried it though as I only have a couple open at any one time and they are mostly gone in a couple of months.