Glen Garoich, Founder's Reserve

One of my friends from University, who helped me through my training, saw me through times good and bad, would probably best fit into the stereotype currently known as a hipster. Although I’m sure he’d tell you that he was a hipster before it was cool. He’d also probably hate me for making that joke. The defining feature for me labelling him as such, besides the skinny jeans and ridiculous hair, was his insistence that once a band became mainstream and became popular, they couldn’t possibly be any good. Even if the same song he had been listening to just weeks before became popular, he would stop listening, seemingly out of spite.

My worry is that I have become a whisky hipster. I don’t mean to be, but whenever I get access to a range of whiskies to try, my immediate response is to steer clear of anything I’ve had before (which seems perfectly sensible) or anything I consider too mainstream which is where my problem lies. I haven’t tasted very many of the Glenfiddich, Glenlivet or Glenmorangie ranges. At whisky festivals, I have tried one or two of their more unusual expressions but I appear to have actively avoided the core range. I think I have done this because of their popularity and to expand my own experience. But how can I expand my experience by ignoring single malts considered to be at the core of the industry? I have now decided I must rectify this, as there is presumably a reason they are so popular. I have some samples in my possession, so expect some reviews soon.

So, what about the whisky? It was infinitely better than the music that Greg used to force upon me – with effort and work, one could always learn to appreciate aspects of the music, the cleverness of the arrangement, the techniques used in recording, or sometimes just singular phrases. The music was never just enjoyable, easy and untaxing. Thankfully, however, the whisky was enjoyable, easy and untaxing. The nose was amazingly inviting, fantastic earthy spicy warm notes, beautiful honey and vanilla notes, mixed in with a little spice and, on the palate, it still delivered and the honey notes were really rather wonderful.

So, all in all, it was a very easy, drinkable whisky. It might not have anything too clever or complicated about it, but, really, who needs whisky to be difficult?

Glen Garioch 1797 Founder’s Reserve

Nose: honey, vanilla, peaty spices, a suggestion of marzipan
Body: smooth and soothing
Palate: spices, honey, warm peaty oak, sugared citrus slices, a hint of pipe smoke
Finish: relatively short and drying, sweet, toffee and caramels.

However, I went to Trafalgar Square’s Albannach again last weekend and, despite my decision to try the staple malts, set out to find something I didn’t know. Glen Garioch (another brand seemingly destined to cause verbal faux pas – pronounced “Geery”) is owned by Morrison Bowmore, under Suntory, the same group that owns Auchentoshan and Bowmore. While these two distilleries seem to have had massive expansion recently with regards to the number of expressions available in both travel retail and domestical bottlings (fifteen for Bowmore, eighteen for Auchentoshan), Glen Garioch seems to be remaining relatively compact. It has just five expressions: three vintages, a twelve year old and the expression I tried, the latter being the 1797 Founder’s Reserve, a non age statement “standard” expression.

Glen Garioch isn’t utterly unheard of and it has been around for some time; there just haven’t been many easily available bottlings since their mothballing in the mid 90’s, which also resulted in the permanent closure of their four floor malting house. Fifteen years on from their reopening, their presence is starting to become more obvious. The twelve year old and Founder’s Reserve are both whiskies fully produced from new stock since reopening and the “small batch release” vintages are all from before the closure. I suspect, given Morrison Bowmore’s current aggressive expansion, we will see more releases as their stock builds up.