This is only the third Glentauchers I have reviewed in the almost six years that I’ve been writing this blog. During that time I have not acquired any greater knowledge of the distillery than I had at the time of the first review, where I said I knew nothing about the distillery. Like many distilleries it is owned by Pernod Ricard and like most of their distilleries its primary, secondary and tertiary purpose is to produce whisky of a certain mild style to use in the group’s blends—see also Miltonduff, Braeval and Alt-a-Bhainne. But lots of very good whisky comes out of single casks from anonymous distilleries—let’s see if this is another such cask.

Glentauchers 20, 1997 (50.4%; Signatory; bourbon barrels 4168+4170; from a bottle split)

Nose: Fresh and fruity (apple, pear, a touch of lemon) and malty. The fruit gets a little more intense as it sits and a bit of pepper emerges too along with a mild grassiness. A few drops of water make the fruit a little muskier and brings out some sweeter floral notes as well.

Palate: Grassier on the palate but otherwise as promised by the nose. Nice texture. On the second sip there’s bitter lime peel and pepper. With time the grassy note moves in a metallic direction and the citrus is the top note. Water intensifies the fruit on the palate as well and there’s a bit of apricot mixed in with the citrus now.

Finish: Long. It’s the lime and pepper that predominate here. As on the palate with water.

Comments: A very pleasant summery malt even if it doesn’t display the complexity you might hope for after 20 years of maturation. I liked it better with a bit of water.

Rating: 85 points.