Review #676 - SMWS 85.96 'Walking the Verdant Vines' - Glen Elgin 12 Year

Written By Me, My Wife & Whisky

Glen Elgin, based in the Speyside region of Scotland, is a relatively large operation with a theoretical capacity of about 2.7 million liters per annum of pure alcohol. Despite that size, not much of the spirit is bottled as single malt; instead, most of it is used for blends, especially the White Horse blend.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has quite a few casks from the distillery, though, and Glen Elgin is a regular release from the independent bottler, especially with sherry maturation. That should pair nicely with the heft of the distillate, which is given an oily character by the use of worm tubs for condensation after distillation.

In late 2024, the Society released a pair of single casks from Glen Elgin as a part of their semi-regular 'Distillery Dive' series, which gives us the chance to compare two bottles with similar specifications from the same distillery. This time, it was two 12 year old casks, one finished in an Oloroso sherry cask, and one finished in a Sauternes cask - this is the Sauternes version.

SMWS 85.96 'Walking the Verdant Vines' - Glen Elgin 12 Year

Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt

Price: USD 130 (2024)

Age Statement: 12 Years

Strength: 58.6% ABV

Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon cask, finished in a second fill Sauternes barrique

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled April 26, 2011; 284 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 9 months; bottles at 100%, 90%, and 80% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Baked goods like fresh bread crust and buttered croissant; there's light fruit like pear, white grape, lemon, and green apple, too. White pepper adds a drying note, and we get some soft floral notes and hay. At times, we get a yeasty note, too.

Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thick; it's nicely warming with some heft. White pepper, baked apple tart, and bready notes greet us, followed by bright tinned orchard fruits, white grape, and wildflower honey. It's a little bit spirity at times; honeycomb, vanilla, and malt are accents.

Finish: Honeycomb, oily texture, unbaked yeasty bread dough, and vanilla; hay, white pepper, and a hint of brown sugar. Drying oak tannins build, and this has a medium-long, warming finish.

Final Note: There's a heavy Sauternes influence in this one - lots of baked goods, light fruits, and honey notes. We enjoyed the mix of sweet and oaky-spicy flavors, but not too much of the original distillate character was still present after the time in the finishing cask. If you like the Sauternes profile, this does showcase it, so a single cask like this could be a good pickup.

Value is okay; SMWS bottles tend to be on the pricey side, though this one falls closer to the cheap end of their range. Whiskies with Sauternes maturation are often expensive, though, so this could be an option to try the style at a fairly reasonable premium price.

Our Average Rating: 7.3 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 5.79

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.

Me, My Wife & Whisky
Next

Review #675 - SMWS 85.97 'Walking the Cool Bodegas' - Glen Elgin 12 Year