New Release: GlenGarioch 1978-2017 38 Year Old Official Hand-Filled #11001 55.3%

There are hand-filled bottles with such long maturation. GlenGarioch GLENGARIOCH 1978-2017 38yo OB HAND FILLED #11001 55.3% Refill Bourbon Barrel The aroma is very floral and intense, with apricot jam, a touch of wax or orange oil, strong custard cream and honey, maron glace, and rich oak. When drinking, it starts with a smooth mouthfeel that expands into a fragrant complexity. Slightly spicy but with a sticky, viscous texture, a creamy and strong sweetness reminiscent of crème brûlée, with a subtle peatiness emerging from the depths and a pleasant finish. 【Very Good】 Recently, a customer from Yurakucho brought back this hand-filled GlenGarioch 1978 bottled in Scotland, which will soon turn 39 years old. Releases from the 1970s are extremely rare, and we received high expectations. While it lacks the unique peatiness often found in bottles from the mid-1970s, the aroma and flavor clearly conveyed a natural maturation process at a leisurely pace in high-quality bourbon casks. Its sticky texture, extremely creamy and rich depth, with nuances reminiscent of crème brûlée or premium maron glace, was particularly impressive. Hand-filled bottles can only be bottled at the distillery and are often in a price range accessible to tourists (though it's somewhat expensive for its specifications...). However, this one is 38 years old with considerable aging and has a significantly high price. Given that it's from a relatively minor distillery, this is entirely an enthusiast-oriented bottle. While both domestic and international productions demonstrate excellent technical skill, Suntory's affiliated distilleries rarely engage in such niche, enthusiast-oriented small-scale work. Nevertheless, we were surprised by this release and hope they continue producing such bottles in the future.