Glengyle Distillery, Scotland     founded: 1833 | active
For more detailed mapping of the distilleries in the area from our whisky map page, use this link.

With gardenias, lilies and elderflower in the air, something’s in bloom. The smell of grass and horse stables transports us out the city and into village tea-shop where we’re served a hearty lunch of honey-glazed ham sandwiches, toasted pine nuts and pickled lemons (a local speciality), all presented to us on squeaky-clean plates that still smell like washing up liquid – Fairy washing up liquid to be precise . We’re already full, but there’s a variety of sweet treats to follow: crème brulee, key lime pie and vanilla ice-cream. Encouraged by the old dear behind the counter, we wash it all down with a shot of Apple Sourz. Hmm, this is a young whisky, but does that explain the whiff of teenage boys’ aftershave? Oh no, I see, it’s just Chad Kroeger, munching on a mars bar. So yes, there’s chocolate, but we can’t decide if it’s the ‘85% with a hint of chilli kind’ or those liquor filled candy sweets you get at Christmas – the last Rolo anyone?. If smells have an aftertaste, this one’s unfortunately reminiscent of chlorine and brine.

The sweetness lingers with cinder toffee, (chilli) butterscotch, honey, maple syrup – and more specifically, a Curly-Wurly. Cantaloupe melon, lychees, gooseberries and apple juice - this is proving to be one tooty fruity dram. Toothsome and creamy, we licked our spoons after bowls of vanilla ice-cream (with cherries on top!) and cups of frothy hot chocolate (the only adult in the room has opted for a really dry sherry and some salty liquorice instead). There’s hints of cinnamon and tumeric too. Grapefruit and burnt orange-peel give it some zest.

With some of us tasting sugared popcorn, melon and chocolate mousse, it’s still sweet, but a littler earthier than before. Parsnip, black pepper, paprika and fresh fennel seeds mask the subtle suggestion of a bonfire. There’s a tang to it too – almost like we’ve eaten too many salt & vinegar crisps and we’ve gotten welts on our tongue. A medicinal swig of minty mouthwash. The majority go for medium, but the minority put’s it very eloquently, ‘tingles like a slowly healing wound’ Did that just happen? All in all, we weren’t blown away. Despite being sweet and drinkable, the taste was a bit lacking - pleasant but nothing special. Hot toddy whisky (or ‘breakfast whisky’ suggests the alcoholic).

~£35 (70cl)

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We've always scored out of 10 in our group (see number in red box, below), with scores regularly given across that spectrum. The value out of 100 below is adjusted to the scale most commonly used for whisky reviews, to allow for better comparison.

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