Tonight’s dram takes me (virtually) to Glasgow, to the Glasgow Distillery – a distillery that originated in 1770, but reopening in 2014, after more than 100 years.
The 1770 Original opens with Juicy Fruit – yes, the gum – light and fruity, then BAM!...Thai green chili peppers – one of the most dramatic flavor-profile changes I’ve experienced – then flavors of malt, virgin oak, and vanilla emerge – then WHAM!... cinnamon, spicy ginger, and methol. The silky mouthfeel and thin-but-clingy legs provide a medium-long finish that includes vanilla, pepper, sweet fruit, mint tea, a bit of milk chocolate, malt, spicy chilies, caramel, methol, … the flavors just keep on coming. It is as if they have been saving-up flavors for the 100+ years that the distillery was closed. The complexity of this dram is impressive, but it is still a bit abrupt – needs more aging for improved smoothness.
As a side-note, this is the first bottle I’ve seen that has a twist-on/off cork. It has a traditional scotch cork, but also has a small screw-thread on the rim of the cork which locks the cork in-place – pretty cool, especially for shipping.
Drink slow, drink long, drink a variety, drink often.