Glenury Royal 40yo 1973/2014

Glenury Royal 40yo 1973/2014

Jewels of Scotland, Lombard 
Single malt - East Highlands
Dark gold
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Cola nuts, malted grains, green tea, aluminium foil, leather, peaches, hints of white pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thickens, warm, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Malted grains, hoppy beer, green tea, peaches, honey, vanilla, aluminium foil, white grapes, hints of sandalwood. 
Finish: Short. Ginseng, green tea, hoppy beer, malted grains. 

Comments: 

Cask 6867. Really lovely old whisky - it’s honeyed and sweet, some feintiness provides some relief from the waves of sweetness. There’s a massive hit of malt in the mid-palate, and surprisingly, it cuts off rather quickly on the finish. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glenury Royal 30yo 1973/2004

Glenury Royal 30yo 1973/2004

Vintage Collection, Signatory 
Single malt - Eastern Highlands
Dark gold 
49.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Red grapes, cocoa nibs, honey, orange peel, black tea, coffee, hints of black pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, tingly, turns watery around the edges. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Black tea, cocoa nibs, coffee, raisins, orange peel, greengages, hints of honey, hints of black pepper. 
Finish: Long. Cocoa nibs, black tea, raisins, candle wax, black pepper. 

Comments: 

Cask 6860. Bitter sweet and raisiny, lots of complicated complexities, like greengages and honey. It’s subtle yet bitter sweet, very unusual and interesting. An hour a dram whisky. Brilliant.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glenury Royal 22yo 1984/2006

Glenury Royal 22yo 1984/2006

Rarest of the Rare, Duncan Taylor
Single malt - East Highlands
Pale gold
50.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, roast chicken, barley sugar, fresh baked bread, sea salt, apples, chalk, soy sauce. With water, pears, lemon zest, white grapes. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, expands, cool. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. White grapes, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, fresh baked bread, chalk, hints of lemon zest. With water, lemon zest, white grapes, pears, hints of lavender. 
Finish: Medium. Lemon zest, white grapes, barley sugar, malted grains. 

Comments: 

Cask 3046. Floral and light, with a little bit of old bottle effect, this Josh is spectacular. Lots of underlying, slightly feinty and sulphurous notes, but these are gentle and complement the floral fruit. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glenury Royal 26yo 1975/2002

Glenury Royal 26yo 1975/2002

Vintage, Signatory 
Single malt - East Highlands 
Dark gold
52.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Sea salt, roast pork, sultanas, peaches, pears, kiwifruit, hints of lemon sherbet. With water, lemon zest, lemon sherbet, hints of roast pork. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, expands, slightly tingly. 
Tasting:  Sour salty. Sea salt, lemon zest, lemon sherbet, peaches, malted grains, pears, hints of kiwifruit. With water, lemon zest, rhubarb compote, hints of pears. 

Finish: Short. Lemon zest, lemon sherbet, pears, hints of smoke. 

Comments: 

Cask 5240. This is unbelievably good. Just a whisper of old bottle effect, lots of citrus and kiwifruit, and a touch of smoke. With water it expands and opens up, lots of lemony sweet flavours and again a little touch of smoke.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glenury Royal Rare Malts 23yo 1971/1994

Glenury Royal Rare Malts 23yo 1971/1994

Official bottling 
Single malt - East Highlands
Amber red
61% ABV
Dram

Nose: Apples, bananas, pears, honey, oranges, leather, hints of watermelon. With water, watermelon, lemon zest, hints of nutmeg.  
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, hot, expands slightly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Leather, cinnamon, pears, apples, honey, vanilla, hints of ginger. With water, tobacco leaf, leather, lemon zest, watermelon, ginger. 
Finish: Medium. Lemon zest, tobacco leaf, ginger, hints of cinnamon. 

Comments: 

Dram #1,500, has to be a special one! I chose a Glenury Royal sample that I’d been saving. It’s chock full of old bottle effect, alongside the fruitiness and sweet spiciness that Glenury Royal has. It’s very drinkable, as with most in the Rare Malts range, needs just a smidgen of water. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glenury Royal 37yo 1973/2011

Glenury Royal 37yo 1973/2011

Nectar, The Whisky Agency
Single malt - East Highlands
Amber
43% ABV
Half dram

Nose: Black tea, honey, coffee, apples, lanolin, chocolate, raisins. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, oily, loosens slightly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Raisins, chocolate, lanolin, plums, coffee, apples, hints of green olives. 
Finish: Long. Apples, coffee, chocolate, honey, black tea, hints of peaches. 

Comments: 

Now that I look at my tasting note, it seems a bit sparse. But that wasn't what the whisky was like at all. It was a surprising combination of sweet, bitter, herbal and... farmyard? Yes, definitely a hand cream note, from when people used to put wool oil into the stuff. And a long glorious finish, with a little tang of peaches at the end to lift a dense, bitter sweet aftertaste.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glenury Royal 12yo bottled 1970s

Glenury Royal 12yo bottled 1970s

John Gillon & Sons
Single malt - East Highlands
Amber
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon, peaches, honeycomb, leather, fried eggs, hints of apple juice. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, volatile, tingly, airy. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Apple juice, white grapes, sandalwood, leather, honeycomb. 
Finish: Long. Lemons, peaches, sandalwood, hints of ginseng. 

Comments: 

Wow, there's heaps of old bottle effect in this whisky. I identify it as something between sandalwood and leather, with a hint of lemon. This wreathes through the entire dram, overlaying sweet luscious notes of honeycomb. There's even a hint of floral, bitter ginseng at the end.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glenury Royal 22 yo 1984/2007

Glenury Royal 22 yo 1984/2007

Rare & Old, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - East Highlands
Amber
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, oak, salted peanuts, tar, peat, leather, apples, hints of caramel.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, cool, astringent.
Tasting: Sweet sour. Peanuts, leather, peat, apples, limes, caramel, hints of molasses.
Finish: Medium. Limes, apples, leather, chillies.

Comments:

Sour, but redolent of sweet, heavy fruit, leathery peat and old caramelised sugar. A strange combination, at once unctuous and a little harsh. Very decadent - like Shanghai in the 1920s, a'la Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Verdict:

I like this.