Glenury Royal Info

[bpt]

I am hoping to tap into the vast knowledge base here and wondering if anyone knows anything about this Whisky. Could anyone provide any info on Glenury Royal distilled in 1978, aged not less than 14 years and bottled by Whyte & Whyte for "The Spirits Library"? It says that it is a single barrel bottling. I have done searches and seen lots of combinations of ages, years and names of independent bottlers but none with this combination (and none from Whyte & Whyte). I have read things about Glenury Royal from this time period and have seen where people said it was terrible and also some that was wonderful. Same with value. I have seen prices that ranged from very average to some that go into hundreds of dollars for a bottle.

Any ideas or suggestions for where to look elsewhere would be appreciated. Thanks.

[AVB]

There is a 1978, 14 yo Glenury Royal bottling for the Master of Malts that was a single cask bottling at 86 proof. I've no idea where to find one though.

Signatory did most of the actual bottling for Whyte & Whyte if that helps you. Also Whyte & Whyte Importers, Ltd., Chicago, IL is the actual firm and is part of Lasky Golbal Strategies.

[bpt]

Hey AVB, thanks for the details. That might help me pinpoint my search. I guess that I should clarify though, I already have a bottle of this. I bought it and now I am trying to figure out what I have. Makes sense, right? All of the details that I posted are what I read from the label. It mentions "the Spirits Library" but nothing about the Master Of Malts.

I bought it because the price seemed right and figured that I would crack it open the next time I get together with my Scotch drinking friends. I was looking around trying to find out what it would taste like when I started seeing the different reviews and then I saw that there were some versions of Glenury that were worth quite a bit of money. Now I am really wondering what I have.

Thanks again for replying.

BPT

[bpt]

Hey AVB, thanks for the details. That might help me pinpoint my search. I guess that I should clarify though, I already have a bottle of this. I bought it and now I am trying to figure out what I have. Makes sense, right? All of the details that I posted are what I read from the label. It mentions "the Spirits Library" but nothing about the Master Of Malts.

I bought it because the price seemed right and figured that I would crack it open the next time I get together with my Scotch drinking friends. I was looking around trying to find out what it would taste like when I started seeing the different reviews and then I saw that there were some versions of Glenury that were worth quite a bit of money. Now I am really wondering what I have.

Thanks again for replying.

BPT

[AVB]

Maybe label pictures would help.

[bpt]

I thought about that but figured I'd test the waters first. I will have to figure out how to do that here as I have never tried before. I am not at home at the moment so perhaps I can try late tonight or some time tomorrow afternoon. Thanks.

BPT

[bpt]

Here is a photo of the label. I was having trouble getting a good focus on it and I have no idea if I have gotten it right as far as putting the picture into this post.

[AVB]

If I had to say I would think that this isn't too terribly valuable just due to the fact that almost nothing can be found out about this particular bottling. If it was in demand there would be more info on it. I collect and I know a fair bit about scotch and so far haven't been able to come up with anything nor have I gotten much from my fellow enthusiasts.

I believe that the reference to "The Spirits Library" is to their own collection of malts they have bottled and not to a third party.

Crack it open, drink some and let us know what you thought.

[drrich1965]

Not sure about the value, but the two Glennury's that I have had have been top.

While independents tend to not be worth a ton, this is an uncommon distillery, and I have seen some older indys go for some decent money.

Given that malt prices have been going nuts, wait a year or so if you want to sell it, or crack it open and let us know.

Here are the notes on one of the ones I have tried..

Score 90SmGlenury Royal 23yo 1971 (61.3%, Rare Malts) May 29, 2007. I told myself I would save this for tomorrow (already trying Glen Albyn for he first time today), but I cannot wait! Nose: Rich, lots of sherry. Some oak. Maybe some minty malt for a second. After a while, I get a bit more of the malt. Mouth: Oh, that is something special. Wow. Big sherry, a good dose of smoky peat, oak to balance it. The finish just lingers. This is a complex malt, with a lot of balance, and a ton of structure. Has it all there. Perhaps a bit more maltyness away from making my top ten or so, but that is quibbling with just a wonderful experience. The nose after the glass is done is just unbelievable; almost as good as drinking it. Almost.May 29, 2007. I told myself I would save this for tomorrow (already trying Glen Albyn for he first time today), but I cannot wait! Nose: Rich, lots of sherry. Some oak. Maybe some minty malt for a second. After a while, I get a bit more of the malt. Mouth: Oh, that is something special. Wow. Big sherry, a good dose of smoky peat, oak to balance it. The finish just lingers. This is a complex malt, with a lot of balance, and a ton of structure. Has it all there. Perhaps a bit more maltyness away from making my top ten or so, but that is quibbling with just a wonderful experience. The nose after the glass is done is just unbelievable; almost as good as drinking it. Almost.

[bpt]

Thanks for your tasting notes. This gives me hope that I may have lucked into a good one. As far as value, collecting, etc, let me say this - I wouldn't call myself a collector; more of a hoarder. I find things that I like or interesting things or good deals and I will grab them. I tend to grab faster then I can drink though. I can honestly say that I haven't looked upon too many things as an investment meaning that I never buy anything just to hold onto and hope that it will be worth something someday. It's always with the intention of drinking it. However, with this one, I am a little curious due to some of the things that I have found since I got it. I did some googling since I bought it not knowing much about it. As mentioned before, I never saw anything on the exact one that I grabbed. But I did see some that were similar and, in a couple of cases, indicated that there were some bottles that were worth a bit of money. Then, just a few days ago, I picked up the current issue of Whisky mag and there on the "Collections" page is a bottle of Glenury Royal. It's not the bottling that I have but is a 12 yr old and it lists a price of 240-280GBP. I bought it with the intention of drinking it - just like all of the other stuff that I have languishing in my booze closet. But this made me wonder if I should hold off until I know what I have. If I am going to be drinking a $500 bottle of Scotch I am thinking that I might want to know before rather than after (and, no, I am not under any illusions that it would make it taste any better). Or, if it really is worth something and somebody is willing to pay that, that amount could get me several bottles of things that I do know about and have never added to my collection, probably because I didn't want to pay what was being asked.

And, as AVB said, there is a good chance that it has little value at all. I am perfectly fine with that as that is what I was thinking from the start.

No worries. I have a few things in front of it that I will be opening first so that will give me time to look into it a little more. And I will certainly post my thoughts if and when I do finally taste it.

Thanks for the input. I appreciate you all taking the time to add your thoughts on this. And if you think of anything else, please add that as well. Cheers.

BPT

[AVB]

Apparently they had a fair amount since I've found a 1979 14 yo version too in a collection. Check with mikeymad on the Whisky Magazine forums.

[bpt]

Thanks, I'll check there. That was going to be my next spot to do some searching. I'll make sure that I look for mikeymad. Cheers

BPT