‘Tis the season to be jolly. Well, almost at least.
Yep, it’s once again almost time to dust off the Christmas tree, angrily wrestle with the tangled wires of the Christmas lights you swore you’d throw out last year, and get ready to eat and drink way too much, as we approach the festive season.
If you’re a regular reader of the blog here at Great Drams, you’ll know that myself and Kirsty love to really get into the festive spirit (pun most definitely intended). Forget ridiculous Christmas number one songs about pork meat wrapped in pastry. Forget awkward exchanges at the office Christmas party, and you can definitely forget an HGV for a popular carbonated beverage that has very little to do with Christmas. The best way to get into the festive spirit and tell that Christmas is right around the corner is to keep your eyes peeled for the annual Great Drams Christmas whisky.
Each year myself or Kirsty get to select a whisky from one of our favourite distilleries to release as the annual Great Drams Christmas whisky. This year I got to choose, and not to blow my own trumpet, but I reckon I absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Here’s a look at the 2024 Great Drams Christmas Whisky.
Previous Popular Christmas Releases
We like to make a fuss of Christmas here at Great Drams, and if we can find an excuse to enjoy whisky and bring it to the forefront of any celebration, you’d best believe that’s exactly what we’ll do.
I’m very excited about this year’s Christmas release (as you can probably tell) though I also adore each and every one of our previous Christmas releases too.
Last year for example, we released our 2023 7 Year Old Cawdor Springs Chateau Margaux Barrique Matured Single Cask Single Malt Whisky. This dram was fully matured in its wine barrique, taking on an amazing crimson colour with plenty of fruity, smoky, and spicy notes with heaps of wine character.
2022 saw our Ardmore Christmas 8 Year Old Single Cask Single Malt. This was another special one for us because we went back to where our journey first began in 2017, as our first bottling in that year was at that very distillery. From the Highlands and Islands region, this Oloroso sherry cask finish was sweet, smoky, peaty, and fruity in equal measure.
In 2021, we ventured to the island of Islay, to the Caol Ila distillery. This 8-year-old was our boldest Christmas release yet. There were salty coastal notes, exotic fruit flavours and aromas, oak, and of course, smoky peat influences. This one went down an absolute storm.
In 2020, when the world went crazy, our 9 Year Old Blair Athol Single Cask Single Malt proved a welcome comfort. Because of the strain we were all feeling, we really wanted to lift the spirits of our amazing customers, so we really spent time on getting this one spot on. From the Blair Athol distillery in The Highlands, it was heavy on the Christmas cake notes, with plenty of sherry character, zesty orange, and warm baking spices.
Those were just some of our past releases, and we’re sure that this year’s release will sell out just as quickly and prove every bit as popular as they were in previous years.
Christmas 2024 Glenburgie 11 Year Old Single Malt PX Sherry Cask Finish
As mentioned, this year’s festive release comes from one of my favourite distilleries. It’s a Speyside distillery that’s VIP invited guests or trade only, so it’s not actually open to the general public at all.
The distillery in question is one which is reported to have been around since 1810, where it was known as ‘Kilnflat’. Today however, after heavy investment and renovation in 2004 when it re-opened, it goes by the name ‘Glenburgie’.
I’m a big fan of drams from Speyside, especially during Christmas. I feel like the drams you get from that region are typically festive. You get a lot of sweet, creamy, rich, and spicy notes like you get with food and drink commonly consumed during The Holidays. This dram definitely fits that criteria, though there are still a few surprises.
First off, I love the colour. It’s a rich walnut amber colour that’s completely natural. At 48.2% it’s perhaps a little stronger than you might expect from a Speyside, yet it’s not harsh in the slightest. It’s actually very smooth and has a cloying mouthfeel that’s extremely pleasant.
This Speyside, which is non-chill filtered, is 11 years old, was bottled in 2024 with a 2nd fill PX sherry cask. It’s also limited to just 128 bottles globally, so don’t leave it too long before ordering. Trust me, if you’re a fan of our previous Christmas releases, or Speyside single malts in general, you won’t want to miss this one.
On the nose, you can expect sweet and fruity aromas combined with gentle winter baking spices. There’s a lot of fruity plum jam notes here, tied in with cinnamon, sticky figs and honey, and a faint hint of oak smoke.
On the palate, this dram really comes alive. There’s winter berry jam, ripe orchard fruits, gentle spice, a touch of black pepper, and then POW, you get a hit of tropical fruits like pineapple, mango, and even a sprinkling of guava. Lingering in the background is the sweet and fruity oakiness from the sherry cask finish.
The finish is drawn out. You get grapes, you get caramelized sugar, you get dates and prunes, gentle warm winter spice, and there’s also more smoke, which this time is more pronounced than in the aromas.
This is the perfect dram to wash down your second helping of Christmas dinner as you relax by the fire.
The post Introducing The GreatDrams Christmas 2024 Glenburgie 11 Year Old Single Malt PX Sherry Cask Finish Whisky Release appeared first on GreatDrams.
