Aldi’s Glen Marnoch & Glen Orrin Whisky Reviewed
Getting close to Christmas now and Aldi are first of the discounting Supermarkets to release their premium – limited stock – Scotch whiskies. We have been invited along to the home of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (The Vaults) by Aldi’s PR company Clarion, for a sampler of what will be on offer over the coming weeks, but you may need to be quick, as always, stocks are limited… Tasting notes below:
Glen Marnoch Single Malt | 40% Vol | Aged 12YO | £17.99
Nose: Toffee bon bons, icing sugar, stewed apple pie, heather honey and a hint of fresh pear skins
Taste: Light Springtime orchard fruit (peaches, apples, pears), vanilla ice-cream with honey drizzle
Finish: Short and fresh
Glen Marnoch Single Malt | 40% Vol | Aged 18YO | £19.99
Nose: Stewed porridge oats, sweet ready break, earthy garden, rose garden freshness, ripe green apples
Taste: Light winter spice, toffee apples, cereal notes, finger of of fudge creamyness
Finish: Medium, Woody forest floor
Glen Marnoch Single Malt | 40% Vol | Aged 24YO | £29.99
Nose: Creamy trifle, dairy butter scone, strawberry jelly, jacobs cream crackers,wheat
Taste: Sweet melted butter, meringue, strawberry pavlova, custard cream, ginger snap
Finish: Medium and mouth coating
Glen Orrin Blended Scotch | 40% Vol | Aged 30YO | £49.99
Nose: Thick orange marmalade, cherry cake, almonds, plump sultanas, honey cheerios, milk chocolate
Taste: Chocolate orange, cherry sponge, ginger bread man, weak coffee latte, sweet marshmallows
Finish: Medium and sugary sweet
After tasting the above 4 drams we ventured to taste some of the non premium drinks on display at the press launch – an 8YO blended whisky caught our eye. We had a nose and taste and have to admit the HIGHLAND BLACK 8 YEAR OLD SCOTCH BLENDED 40% ALC / VOL at only £12.49 for a 70cl bottle is a very fine blend and worth a try.
Not entirely sure all 4 premium drams are worth the discounted price or the hype, out of the 4 I would recommend the 18YO and the 24YO, good Whiskies for a fair price… but it’s not always about the age, its about the Whisky its self … and it’s only ever worth it if you like it, so if you manage to get your hands on them give them a try, if not don’t panic.
PS: wrap up warm when queueing for the older whiskies as stocks are very limited.
The Glen Marnoch 18 has now made a return to Aldi, unfortunately at a higher retail price of £24.99. Still a great price for an 18yo whisky!
got a bottle of the 18 today..as you say it is 25£ but a very fine dram and as much as I like the 24, the 18 was better last time…but think I’ll hold on to this bottle for a later date.
top dram for the money
tried the Glen Marnoch 18yr just got a few drams left can not wait for Aldi to get this years supply in ( any ideas)
I have tried all the above Glen Marnoch Whiskies a little too much. I liked 18 year old out of the lot drank 2 bottles. The 24 was far too easy to drink but superb and excellent drank 2 bottles . As an update to this article on Glen Marnoch I really enjoyed their recent Bourbon and Limited edition Islay Edition drank 2 bottles each. Islay edition is a very strong one in taste which I found earthy and very peaty drank one bottle and wanted more. I liked all the Glen Marnoch editions and I would never say no to the 12 year old release either. All fanstatic and at a good price. It was nice to spend 1 year going through the lot of them. I would certainly buy them all again given the chance. I also had their older one about 3-4 years ago and they were good too.
Aldi have deservedly won a substantial reputation in the field of Single Malts. The Speyside has great character associated with Bourbon casks. For Christmas 2014 they produced an Islay blended whisky which I found delightful. It was markedly smoky, but much softer than the medicinal peated “heavies”. – perhaps comparable to Bowmore. This year they have gone for a smokier dram which promises more of the Ardbeg or Lagavulin character. I haven’t opened it yet. I’ve also got a bottle of Highland Black in – it promises to be a good nightcap!
HAVING BEEN A LOVER OF SINGLE MALT WHISKY FOR OVER 50 YEARS
THE GLEN MARNOCH ISLAY ON SALE AT ALDI IS A BEUTIFUL BLEND OF FLAVOURS .i WILL BE DRINKING A GREAT DEAL OF IT OVER THE NEXT YEARS , RESPONSIBLY OF COURSE
I am a whiskey nut and just love to try different blends. So I’m in Aldi and notice the 12 year and 18 year Glen Marnoch single malt, well what does a whiskey man do but buy both bottles. I have to say they were both just fantastic. They were smooth with lots of flavour and I have been telling all my whiskey friends about them. Aldi please keep up the great service of providing fantastic whiskies.
No review of the Glen Orrin single grain yet. I am drinking it now and it’s quite an acceptable Dram