Review #827 - Glenturret 15 Year (2022)
The Glenturret distillery was purchased in 2019 by Lalique, the French luxury crystal/glassmaker; the following year, they launched a new, updated core range. These whiskies were bottled in more fanciful decanters due to the Lalique connection, and the price points on some of these single malts jumped up as well. The range started with a 10 year (peat smoked), 12 year, 15 year, and a 'Triple Wood;' these products are batch made and released once per year.
This 15 Year Glenturret that we're looking at is the 2022 edition. The label states that it was aged for those years in European oak; they don't give any more detail than that, but based on the flavors we found in the glass, we're assuming much of that oak was used to make sherry casks. These earlier releases of the 15 year Glenturret also had a nice strength of 53% ABV, while the newer versions are lower: 50.8% ABV from 2023 to 2024, and now down to 46.5% ABV in 2025.
Glenturret 15 Year (2022)
Scotland/Highland - Single Malt
Price: USD 195 (2026)
Age Statement: 15 Years
Strength: 53% ABV
Cask Makeup: European oak
Details: Bottled 2022
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times (once blind) over 3 years. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Old oak like antique furniture followed by strong dark fruits: prune, grape, acidic figs, a bit of orange and pomegranate. There's a soft, savory sulphur deeper in the glass, but we also get malt, hay, and a touch of wood smoke. Browned beef, raisin, and white pepper are accents.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thick; we're greeted by flavors of oak, brown sugar, leather, and dark chocolate first. Warming sherry fruits like prune, grape, raisin, and cherry cordial build, and there are subtleties of black tea, cardamom, clove, sassafras, and chocolate croissant.
Finish: Acidic prunes and more dark chocolate, root beer, tons of stewed fruits... then flat cola, orange rind, and chocolate cookies. There's a nice old-school character to the malt profile, good density, lots of depth in general. Wood spice builds, and we get hints of tart cherry, clove, and tobacco in the aftertaste. This has a medium-long finish.
Final Note: This is a very nice single malt from Glenturret. Most of our past experience with Glenturret is actually with their peated whiskies, and this remains the only unpeated version that we've tried; the strong sherry cask and oak spice influences combine for a decadent, sweet and spicy dram. Good depth, good balance, just a really good whisky.
Value isn't great for this release, even though it is a good whisky. Owners Lalique have very much taken this distillery and brand in a 'premium' direction, and the prices of the bottles and other merchandise reflect that; we like this whisky, but not as much for almost $200.
Our Rating: 7.8 / 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: 5.42
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.
Check out our other Glenturret reviews:
Review #826 - SMWS 16.60 'Entering Uncharted Paths' - Glenturret 10 Year
Review #825 - SMWS 16.50 'Tar in the Night' - Glenturret 6 Year
Review #824 - SMWS 16.97 'Smoky Hanky Panky' - Glenturret 13 Year
Review #432 - SMWS 16.67 'A Study in Sepia and Umber' - Glenturret 8 Year
Review #294 - SMWS 16.56 'Distill My Peating Heart' - Glenturret 12 Year
