Review #151 - SMWS 71.83 "Amuse Your Bouche" - Glenburgie 10 Year

Another Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottle, from a distillery that we rarely get to taste - Glenburgie. Situated near the River Lossie in Speyside, this is an unpeated single malt - a single cask, in fact - that was aged for 10 years in a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel.

Like the vast majority of the Society's bottlings, this is presented at cask strength (56.7% ABV, in this case), and as always, there's no chill filtration or coloring added. The cask yielded 240 bottles, and it was distilled in 2011.

SMWS 71.83 "Amuse Your Bouche" - Glenburgie 10 Year

Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt

Price Paid: USD 110 (2022)

Current Locally Available Price: No longer available

Age Statement: 10 Years

Strength: 56.7% ABV

Cask Makeup: First-fill ex-bourbon barrel

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled July 11, 2011; 1 of 240 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 6 months; bottles at 100%, 80%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Bright with some sharper, clean spirit up front, before soft oak and strong baking spices flood in. Brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon applesauce, and vanilla are all here - a hint of nuttiness, too, before some light lemon zest. With more time, the oak becomes slightly perfume but also sharp, and there's some sweet, juicy pear.

Palate: Strong and a bit spirity again, with a thick mouthfeel - it's very oily. Plenty of orchard fruits are here: lemon and orange, some sweet green apples or applesauce; there's a hint of watermelon at times. With more air time, juicy plum and nectarines come to the forefront, followed by those baking spices from the nose - vanilla bean, cinnamon sugar, and a hint of nutmeg. On the back end, dry oak and light honey.

Finish: Warm, medium length, with plenty of oaky spice. Black pepper and anise add some sharper tones, while vanilla and cinnamon balance it with sweetness. There's just a hint of peach on the back end, but this mostly sticks to the spices.

Final Note: Decent whisky, solid, but nothing too special. The cask strength presentation definitely allows this to convey plenty of punchy flavor, but those flavors are generally contained to orchard fruit and baking spices, without a ton of depth or nuance. If we were looking for a cask strength 'daily sipper,' a bottle like this might be a decent recommendation.

Our Average Rating: 6.8 / 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: 5.70