Before sitting back in my armchair, I pour the liquid I'm about to present into the glass to let it air for a long time. After all, being confined in a cask for 50 years means that the distillate needs a bit of air to develop.

I then chose Nick Cave's Live at Alexandra Palace vinyl on the track The Ship Song (listen here to get into the maritime atmosphere of this magnificent distillate), which I put on my turntable. 

Flo had been talking about it for a long time, but the pandemic forced us to postpone its release, but we have to admit that in the new look of the brand's bottles, it's got dog!

The Glenglassaugh distillery is unveiling an exceptional 50-year-old whisky as a tribute to its coastal origins. This rare and precious whisky is the fruit of five decades of maturation! 50 years old! When you see the grey hairs that this has given me, you can imagine that a lot must have happened in Pedro Ximénez's cask no. 6.

Glenglassaugh was founded in 1875 by James Moir and his nephew Thomas Wilson, and was sold to Highland Distillers (Edrington Group) in 1890. It was in the expert hands of this same company that our distillate was born 100 years later on the north coast of Scotland.

Key dates for the distillery include 1960, when it was rebuilt to increase production capacity, and 1986, when it was mothballed due to a sluggish market. The distillery was resurrected in 2008 when it was taken over by the Scaent group (which is also where the Glenglasaugh Revival was born).

Since 2016, the Portsoy distillery has been owned by Brown Forman and Rachel Barrie selects the distillates (much to our delight).

Since last year, Glenglassaugh has been committed to preserving the precious nature that surrounds the distillery. In 2023, the distillery launched an initiative to protect local ecosystems and promote sustainable development.

It was the Keeper of the Quaich, Dr Rachel Barrie, who, in 2022, selected the famous No. 6 cask that had been lying dormant in the distillery's cellar since 1972, and which is offered here as a 41.8% ABV raw cask. His aim is to showcase the distillates from before the distillery was mothballed.

 Are you enjoying it?

 I've been eyeing my glass for some time now, and I've seen this marked amber-coloured liquid with bronze-brown highlights. 

You have to make up your mind and dip your nose into the glass.

Were we told this was a coastal whisky? Well, the work of the distillers in the 80s and the passage of time will prove us wrong.

The first sip delivers a fruity cornucopia with notes of blueberry and blackberry, followed by warmer plum notes.

The second passage is very slightly fresher, with a spicy enhancement with a few cloves and then, over time, a return to notes of ripe peach.  

The 3rd passage is windier, with sultanas and a hint of oak, with notes of oak barrels worn down by time and the undermining work of the angels. A hint of liquorice also emerges at the end.  

The end of its long wait!

On the palate, the expected sweet notes of blackcurrant are present but very stealthy. These are quickly replaced by spicy notes that coat the tongue.

Then, as the spices subside, woody notes of almond, dry lychee notes and, above all, salty notes (this is our famous coastal whisky) fill the mouth and surprise the palate.

Over time, the taste softens and becomes more honeyed and even sweet with raspberry. The saline notes remain in the background, however, proving that this is indeed a whisky distilled by the sea.

On the way down, it is warm but leaves a mixture of long, dry woody notes, salty notes and warm, ripe fruit notes in the throat.

The empty glass is inexorably filled with long, fruity notes.

Something tells me that this is just the beginning, as it is part of a ‘range’ called THE SERPENTINE COLLECTION (in reference to the green marble found in the cliffs surrounding the distillery).

If you want to get your hands on this nugget (which costs €8,600), head to The Whisky Lodge, Millésima and soon Comptoir Irlandais, Whisky Shop France, Les grands alambics, Private Whisky Society and Ma cave à Whisky. The choice is yours!

What a wonderful trip to the north coast of Scotland! Thank you Dr Barrie.