The Glen Garioch Founder’s Reserve

Tasting notes:
The nose on this dram is oddly nice: pickled lemons masquerading as a pickled peach in an attempt to score a date with a sweet pickle (there’s more action than you’d think on picklemingle.com).  Unfortunately, he’s not that into her, but he won’t tell her that (he’s not a dill, after all).  Another note on the nose hits like floor polish, but one so thick and rich that you’re tempted to put on ice cream when you’re in a mood.  Will it act like Shell®? Fingers crossed… While I’m waiting to see if it sets up, I also get notes of a burning cinnamon bush.  I listen attentively, but it’s not speaking to me.
   The mouth is better than the nose: champagne grapes and undercurrants.  Of what, you ask?  If you have to ask that, you’ve already missed the joke.  The mouth grows in potency moment by moment, but it’s fine: champagne and cold cream mousse.  Mistletoe and holly berries, but not Hallie Berry (unfortunately).  There’s a note on the tail end of a shallot and tomatillo omelette left uneaten.
     The finish offers a savoriness that makes me want to eat a spinach and Grana Padano quiche out of an oiled teak bowl.  There’s a mustiness and hints of an orange/almond liqueur lingering from the nose, across the mouth, and into the finish.  It also gives a burst of spice or fire (it’s hard to distinguish which it is) on the finish that is medium long and fairly intense at first, not unlike biting into a Vidalia onion as if it were an apple (but not quite like when you’d thought it actually was an apple). The finish finishes with a caramel malty note that is nicely redemptive.

Rating: