hs305 scored this whisky 90 points 
[September, 2017] I had a fantastic Glentauchers (WB id 94825) during a Cadenhead warehouse tasting in Campbeltown that I scored 91 points. This seems to be a sister cask (27-years old too that I bought for 157,50 Euro) so I am very curious if this is that good as well. To make it more interesting I do this head-to-head to a younger 20-years old (WB id 92238) that I bought for 82 Euro.
It seems as if the years from 1989 to 1994 are the golden years of Glentauchers with almost all releases (that I tried so far) of a superior quality. We will see in the future if the later vintages will develop a comparable complex profile after some more years of maturation or if they stay a little simplier. Nevertheless, Glentauchers has become one of my favourite distilleries over the last years...
It seems as if the years from 1989 to 1994 are the golden years of Glentauchers with almost all releases (that I tried so far) of a superior quality. We will see in the future if the later vintages will develop a comparable complex profile after some more years of maturation or if they stay a little simplier. Nevertheless, Glentauchers has become one of my favourite distilleries over the last years...
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The 27y is significantly darker at amber than the 20y at pale gold. The texture of the 20y shows late slow legs with small tears. The 27y has an even better oiliness with late slow legs and fat sticky tears. Looks like both offer a great mouthfeel and finish... The nose of the 27y offers an adorable honey-sweet and fruity profile that is complex and balanced, quite comparable to the cask in Campbeltown. No off-notes or flaws that I can detect. The nose of the 20y is even sweeter but less fruitier, nevertheless still very nice and balanced. I score the 27y two points higher than the 20y.
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The 20y has a sweet, fruity and spicy profile that is nicely balanced but not very complex. The 27y is much more complex and multi-layered on different honey and sugary flavours, home-grown and exotic fruits and spices. One to chew for minutes and absolutely on eye-level with the Campbeltown cask. Great stuff! Both drams are excellent swimmer and offer a lot more aromas and flavours when reduced with water. While I like the 20y better with some water added I enjoy the 27y both neat and reduced very much. In doubt I favour the neat 27y because of its power.
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The 27y instantly coats the whole of the mouth with a great warming feeling and just a minor astringent moment (tannins). The 20y offers a coating mouthfeel with minor bitter moments from the wood too. I like the 27y a little better on this dimension. The very long finish of the 27y vanishes in several waves without the slightest distracting feeling or off-note, simply delicious. The 20y has a medium to long sweet finish with some peppery moments that are enjoyable. Again I like the 27y two to three points better than the 20y (that is on a high level, too).
