Glentauchers 2010, 4 YO, C&S Dram Collection

If you're stupid brave enough to embark on one, you can learn a lot about yourself on a family road trip. Having just arrived back from a two week holiday that culminated in a final day, ten-and-a-half-hour drive home from the south coast of NSW - our five month old and three year old maniacs strapped in but by no means subdued - I can confirm, though, that a lot of it aint pretty.

I wont bore you (too much/any further) with any of the lessons I learned that day (and will endeavour to unlearn until the next time the lunatics hit the road in pursuit of a "holiday"), but suffice it to say that at one point I found myself muttering "I'm making time" in response to an unasked (but implicit in the white knuckles of my equally desperate better half) question as I planted my foot and overtook three semis at speed on a sharp turn (the stereo belting out not Voodoo Chile, but a continuous loop of tracks from the Brandenburg Concerto, Bringing It All Back Home, and The Very Best of Toots and the Maytals).

So, Glentauchers then. I know absolutely bugger all about Glentauchers. But this is the kind of dram that one might need after such a journey. A very young, strong, sherry butt whisky. I bought these samples from Whiskybase.

Glentauchers 2010, 4 Year Old, C&S Dram Collection, 66.6%

Nose: Caramel, chocolate and chilli at first. Surprisingly, there's not a massive alcohol burn in the nostrils, even as it prickles the lips. After a while, we get BBQ sauce, Thai yellow soy bean paste and white pepper.
The addition of water douses the caramel a little and introduces a bubblegum note as it becomes slightly floral and even a little herbal.


Palate: Here's that alcohol! Fiery heat, naturally, but it's actually not overwhelming at this stage. Milk chocolate, chilli - sort of reminiscent of the chilli pepper I find in Nikka From the Barrel. Gum leaf, menthol.
Water releases some more sweetness as it brings the caramel and chocolate to the fore.

Finish: Long, hot, prickly finish, with some chest burn. Chilli pepper, black pepper, chocolate. Water extends the caramel and chocolate here as well.

An interesting whisky. Brutally strong and young in many respects, but also kind of approachable and enjoyable in others. Not particularly complex. It sure can take a lot of water, so I guess there's plenty of bang for your buck.

I wonder if they decided to bottle it when they did - four months shy of its fifth birthday - so as to release it at 66.6%?