Glenglassaugh Portsoy

The stills of the Glenglassaugh distillery fell silent in November of 1986. Following the closure, a handful of official bottlings have been released. In 2008, the Dutch-based Scaent Group acquired the distillery for £5 million and reopened it in November of that year. The Glenglassaugh distillery sits on a hillside in the Glassaugh Glen in close proximity to the sea.

The distillery was founded in 1875 by the Glenglassaugh Distillery Company and the build cost £10,000. In 1887, refurbishments were carried out on the site, under the control of Alexander Morrison; stills were installed and equipment was modernized. Five years later, former customers Robertson and Baxter acquired the distillery and promptly resold it to the Highland Distilleries Company for £15,000. Between 1908 and 1960 the Glenglassaugh whisky distillery was only in operation very briefly, for it closed and reopened frequently.

Just before reopening in 1960, an extensive rebuild was carried out and two new stills were installed; these were significantly larger than the previous stills and consequently doubled the total annual capacity to one million litres. During this time the onsite maltings were shut down and from then on Tamdhu Distillery provided the malt. Over the years Glenglassaugh whisky has been a constituent of many blends including the popular Famous Grouse and the American favourite, Cutty Sark. Today there are a few official house bottlings and a handful of independent releases.

This revival bottling is the first whisky to be made at the distillery since it reopened. Matured in a mixture of first and refill bourbon casks, this was finished for 6 months in red wine casks and first-fill oloroso sherry butts.

Portsoy is a richly peated single malt, named after the coastal distillery's neighbouring harbour village. Matured in a selection of sherry, bourbon, and Port casks, it boasts a satisfyingly smoky, maritime character with waves of tropical fruit, salted liquorice, sticky soy, and chocolate.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Waves of coastal character with sweet layers of tropical fruit and herbaceous peat, toffee, milk chocolate, and sweet soy sauce.

Palate: Chocolatey malt supports grilled pineapple and treacle toffee, while that sticky soy and smoky peat tangle beneath.

Finish: Maritime peat smoke drifts softly alongside peppery oak, stewed berries, charred tropical fruits, and rich oak. Seaweed, salted liquorice, and dark chocolate-coated salted almonds linger.