I continue my exploration of new distilleries without moving far from last week’s Clydeside Distillery. Just a few kilometres (or miles, if you want to continue using an anachronistic measurement system) to the west is the destination for this post, The Glasgow Distillery. I have three of their Glasgow 1770 Small Batch Series in review today. The 2024 Unepeated Tokaji finish, the 2023 “Unpeated” Manzanilla cask Finish and 2022’s Red Wine Peated and Ruby Port triple distilled vatting.
This review is a departure from my previous ones for several reasons. While I have been enjoying Cask Strength whisky during my whisky travels, this is the first time I will formally review Cask Strength whisky. It is also a departure from my usual approach of exploring a distillery’s standard lineup of original bottlings before diving into older or special editions. So why the change? Pin that down to the hype surrounding these bottlings in the whisky-sphere. Also, when I tried a couple of these in Glasgow’s famous Pot Still pub, I was smitten. At some point, I will go back to Glasgow’s 1770 entry lineup. For now, let me briefly touch on the distillery’s history and second chances in the whisky world.
TL:DR: Glasgow Distillery’s Small Batch series releases make for an exciting ride. If this is what the distillery can deliver under 10 years old, the future looks very bright.
Score*: 7 to 8 across the board, From very good to something special
Rekindling a long-standing tradition
The Glasgow Distillery was funded at the end of 2012, the first distillery to be active in Glasgow since the last one of a once thriving scene shut down in the 1970s. Initially, the distillery focused on producing their Makar gin. Whisky production only started in March 2015, and the unpeated first single malt was released just over three years later, in June 2018, officially launching the Glasgow 1770 brand. Like Longrow and Hazelburn for Springbank, this refers to a lost distillery. The 1770 date references the founding date of the original Glasgow Distillery (which according to at least one source was originally called Dundashill), which operated under different names until 1902.
The launch of the unpeated 1770 was followed in 2019 by a peated version and in 2020 by a triple distilled whisky. These three whiskies currently make up the “entry” lineup for the distillery.
The first “special edition” cask strength Glasgow 1770 was launched in 2021 as a Limited Edition. The special releases were finally renamed to Small Batch Series in 2022.
The Glasgow Distillery has gained recognition from whisky enthusiasts in the past year or two, but things didn’t start in the best of ways. The way the distillery corrected course is a great example of how whisky producers can demonstrate attention to their customer base rather than just the bottom line.
Launch stumbles…
The initial Glasgow 1770 releases, bottled in 50 cl, arguably received a fair share of criticism for their pricing. The first release was available by ballot only for £100. Even among its new distillery peers and their first releases, this was on the higher end, even more so considering the bottle size. Many put this down to first-release hype and patiently waited for the standard bottlings. When these finally arrived on the market, the grumbles continued. While the price per bottle was significantly more reasonable, the volume remained at 50 cl, effectively making these bottles quite expensive (when compared to 70 cl bottles) for a young non-age-statement whisky.
… second chances and a pricing wish
The way Glasgow Distillery corrected this was by increasing the bottle volume to the standard 70cl while keeping the price the same. Whisky enthusiasts rejoiced, for once graced with a consumer-friendly move from an industry that too often seems to be intent on milking any penny they can from their customers. Today, the standard line-up bottlings from Glasgow Distillery are on sale for £52, a fair price in today’s single malt market. The Small Batch releases are arguably a fantastic deal at £59.
All the above applies to the UK. What about the rest of the world? Things are taking a bit longer, which is not surprising for a small new distillery. European distribution seems to be focused on Germany. I still see some European online retailers offering the old 50cl bottles, sometimes at retail and sometimes discounted, but nothing more. I wonder if the positive decision (for the consumer) to keep pricing stable when switching from 50 to 70 cl may have negatively impacted distributors’ willingness to invest in the brand, while still holding the old stock.
Hopefully, this will change shortly. What I hope for, more than anything, is a change in the distribution pricing for the Small Batch releases. These are fantastic value at £59 (about €70) at the 80-90€ asking price in Europe, so deciding to pick one of these vs other similarly priced bottles becomes tougher. I remain optimistic. After all the Glasgow Distillery has shown us they can keep the consumer in mind before.
And now let’s get going with the review of the trio of Glasgow 1770 Small Batch Series releases.
Glasgow 1770 Small Batch Series Tokaji Cask Finish
Specs
Price paid: £ 59
Lot/bottled date: Batch 2, bottled 3/6/2024
ABV: 54.8%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used: Unpeated whisky aged for a total of 6 years, first in first fill ex-bourbon, than finished for 3 years and 6 months in sweet Tokaji wine casks
Tasting Notes
Colour: Rich gold, like an old piece of jewellery.
Nose: The aroma has medium intensity, immediately steering towards tropical and sweet notes. At first, there is mango, pineapple, dried peach, white chocolate, freshly zested lemon peel, and vanilla. Behind that there is a mix of spices: white pepper, nutmeg, maybe a touch of clove. In the background, there is a musty and dusty cellar note. It continues to develop as it breathes with burnt honey, menthol, and white rose petals. Progressively the floral note becomes more and more intense on a background of mango, white chocolate and burnt honey.
Taste & Finish: It is quite oily and rich on the palate. The taste is opulent reminding of custard tart (pastry, custard, nutmeg), white pepper spice, malt, dark burnt honey, and dried tropical fruit.
The finish is very long, staying with the tropical, honey, spice and floral aromas I detected on the nose.
Since this is cask strength, I tried diluting it to about 46% with water. I was disappointed as this becomes duller when diluted. On the nose, I get pineapple and mango, orange marmalade, and a slightly perfumy note. It loses those musty, spicy and burnt honey notes which balance out the sweet leaning aromas. Better on the palate, with more dried tropical fruit, vanilla, honey, and some nutmeg spice. Out of the three, this is the one I preferred undiluted.
Score*: 7, very good indeed.
I loved the richness and complexity of this Tokaji finished unpeated Glasgow 1770 Small batch in this review. I also recognise that it might not be to everyone’s taste. The famous Serge Valentin of Whisky Fun fame panned it without mercy (link at the end of this post). And he admittedly has a prejudice against Tokaji casks in whisky. I like Tokaji, so the strong cask influence is something I enjoy. I do think that a peated spirit might work better here, creating a more balanced aromatic profile. The Glasgow Distillery evidently agree, since their first Tokaji finish batch was a peated whisky. In any case, I am glad to have this bottle at hand. I know I am going to reach out for It when I feel like having a sweeter dram with plenty of character.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Glasgow 1770 Small Batch Series Manzanilla Sherry Cask
Specs
Sample kindly provided by my fellow whisky enthusiast Klizzt
Lot/bottled date: Batch 1, bottled 25/7/2023
ABV: 59%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used: Unpeated whisky fully matured in refill Manzanilla Sherry casks which had previously held Peated whisky since 12/3/2018
Tasting Notes
Colour: A rich warm amber
Nose: This is intense. Another complex dram from Glasgow Distillery, in this case, playing on more on peated and toasted notes. Although the spirit is unpeated, the use of a cask which previously held peated whisky carries a lot of smoke notes. There is wood smoke, tobacco and leather, dried apricot and cherry. In the background, there are hints of menthol, black pepper, dark chocolate, bay leaf, Manuka honey, and smoked meat. The only knock I have on this is the alcohol, which for me is a bit too noticeable on the nose.
Taste & Finish: Rich, a bit hot, again with the alcohol a bit too noticeable for my taste. Initially, I penned this to the youth of the whisky, but it is not a new make note. The 59% ABV is just a bit too high for my taste. This might reflect my relatively short experience with whisky. The taste shows a very noticeable peatiness, significantly stronger than on the nose, with notes of tobacco, dark sourdough bread crust, mocha and pepper
The finish is medium long, with chocolate, tobacco, pepper spice and a lingering peatiness.
Considering I found this a bit hot neat, I was curious to see if adding water would do the trick and smoothen things out. Out of the three Glasgow 1770 Small Batch in review today, this is the one that benefits most from a bit of dilution. It retains the tobacco, leather and smoke character on the nose, with more menthol than before. On the palate, it loses that hot edge. The peatiness gets toned down, which also improves the complexity of the palate.
Score*: 7.5 very close to being something special
The Manzanilla Cask Small Batch Series is a delicious dram, which falls just short of being great due to the ABV, which makes it a bit hot. As always, this is a personal opinion and I feel I must preface this since this is one of the most loved Small Batch Series releases. One thing is for sure, this is a grown-up dram that makes me think of old-fashioned cigar lounges furnished with large leather armchairs. Or, if you are a red wine fan, it very much makes me think of the aromas you find in great, aged red wines (minus the smoke). Either way it is a memorable whisky.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Glasgow 1770 Small Batch Series Red Wine and Ruby Port cask Finish
Specs
Price paid: € 72.90
Lot/bottled date: Batch 1, bottled in 2022
ABV: 57.5%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used: A marriage of peated whisky finished in Bordeaux red wine casks and triple-distilled whisky finished in ruby Port casks
Tasting Notes
Colour: Coppery amber, definitely with a reddish tinge, leaving little doubt on the casks used.
Nose: Wow, this is an intense nose. The first hit comes from the ruby Port with notes of vanilla, cherries, strawberries, raspberry, long pepper, allspice and slightly nutty (almonds, maybe). The peat impact is quite light, with notes of smoked custard. The more I sipped this the more I was glad this was so as too much peat might have toned down the bright fruity aromas. As it opens up, it gains complexity with notes of tomato leaf, a hint of fenugreek, roses, and marron glaceé (candied chestnuts).
Taste & Finish: Mouthcoating and smooth. Is it the triple distilled spirit perhaps? The aromas are of fresh-cut shag tobacco, cigar ash, peppercorn, some floral notes, dark fruit (blackberries), and just a hint of smoke. Funny how this comes across as less peaty than the Manzanilla one.
The finish is long and lovely, with a rich taste of red fruits (cherry and strawberry), tobacco, toasted almonds, spice and chocolate.
As with the previous two, I added water to see how this changed. The addition of water transformed the aromas significantly. Not better or worse, but definitely different. On the nose, while the red fruits remain in the forefront, there are newly revealed notes of roses, orange peel, and a slight herbal note. On the palate, it becomes all smoked chocolate and dark spices (pepper, cloves). It is an intriguing whisky both neat and with water.
Score: 8 something special
Can negative expectations work in reverse? I must admit that the Red wine/ruby port Small Batch from Glasgow 1770 in this review was the one bottle I expected to be slightly underwhelming. In part, due to the younger age compared to the other two bottles (4 years old vs 5 and 6, respectively). In part, because until today, I had always been underwhelmed by Port-finished whisky. Instead, I discovered a rich, complex whisky which strikes the rare balance of being immediately fun and still deserving of a prolonged meditative sipping session. If there is a batch 2, I would be very tempted to grab another bottle.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
If you stayed all the way to the end of this longer than usual post, thank you and see you soon with another “new” lowland distillery.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the trio of Glasgow 1770 Small Batch I enjoyed:
Tokaji cask finish
Manzanilla cask
Red wine/ruby Port cask finish
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