Having moth-balled for over two decades, one can only imagine the reactions when the doors to Glenglassaugh’s dormant coastal distillery reopened in 2008, unbarring the rare casks left maturing with the coastal winds bearing the role of custodians. Fast forward another twenty-odd years to present day, Glenglassaugh is proud to present two of its finest and rarest casks, thoughtfully selected by its master blender, Rachel Barrie, solely for the Asian market: the Glenglassaugh Asia Exclusive Cask Release No. 1 and 2.
“Historically, Asia is the biggest global market for single malts, especially for the higher prestige bracket. We’ve had a long-term relationship with Asia, thus the launch of two Asia-exclusive casks–almost an acknowledgement for the loyalty of Asian whisky fans,” shared Stewart Buchanan, global brand ambassador of Glenglassaugh.
Over an insightful lunch conversation, Buchanan shed light on the Scottish distillery’s unique coastal terroir and its influence on the casks of amber liquid maturing within its warehouse. “With the distillery sitting right on the coast of the North sea, the casks breathe in the coastal winds driving through the warehouse as it contracts and expands through the years,” he continues. “No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to replicate these individual casks–with every wood and every tree being different, one can truly taste the notes and flavours produced by each unique cask that is pulled out by the whisky itself.”
“When you look at the casks, there’s two influences; you’ve got the distillery’s soul and DNA, and then also the cask and the wood, or the character of the sherry. And so Rachel’s chosen these two because they show different facets of the Glenglassaugh spirit,” says Buchanan. And different facets they show, indeed.
Release No. 2, bottled from Cask Number 100, is a true representation of the distillery’s character. Distilled and maturing since 19 September 1975, Release No. 2 brings forth an intense reflection of tropical and stone fruit, with the tinge of sea salt from the coastal air in the region. The walnut brown Cask Number 100 unfurls with a tranquil breeze of tropical fruit–think peach stone and nashi pear–with soft mellow oak. Waves of caramelised pineapple, white peach and cherry then caresses the palate with a breath of sea-salted grapefruit.
On the other hand, the rich mahogany Cask Number 6794, or Release No. 1, gives one a deeper focus of the darkness of the oak and sherry cask. Distilled on 3 September 1975, it offers enticing waves of pistachio and warm marmalade on a base of chocolate glace icing, black cherry and sticky toffee pudding, before attacking with a delicious medley of sun-dried dates and oil-roasted almonds, combined with sweet spice and molasses.
Capturing a moment in time few other expressions are able to, both Asia Exclusive Casks Release No. 1 and 2 are now available at S$10,418 each.
