DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL
February 2026
Glengoyne 16 Year Old Japanese Mizunara Oak
Mastering Japanese Mizunara oak is the holy grail of whiskymaking. Glengoyne has done it, with the longest Mizunara maturation in Scotch history: a full six years in the rarest and most expensive oak in the world.
Scotch, Single Malt
Colour
BronzeNose
Almond croissant, sandalwood, apricot, charred orange, macadamia fudge and sponge cake.Palate
Pecan custard pie, cinnamon, banana bread and spiced banana with cedarwood and soft leather.What makes this whisky so special
In the ultimate whisky love-hate relationship, whiskymakers know Mizunara can deliver incredible depth of spice, vanilla and fragrant wood to a whisky – but it’s notoriously difficult to work with. In fact, its knottiness and tendency to leak means making a working cask out of Mizunara is like “composing a symphony on a kazoo”.
That makes Mizunara tricky to work with, as well as hugely expensive, because Mizunara trees can take up to 300 years to grow enough for harvesting (which is quite a while to wait for a dram).
All that cost and persnicketiness means most Scotch distilleries will usually risk a few months finish in Mizunara at most. Not Glengoyne, though. They’ve redefined what’s possible, and gone for twenty times that: a full six-year secondary maturation in this incredible wood.
Not a huge surprise, then, that it wiped the floor with the competition at the latest International Spirits Challenge, beating out 98 other bottles to win the ‘Best Single Malt between 13 and 20 years old’ category trophy and picking up a Double Gold medal.
There’s no doubt about why it won: the six-year secondary maturation in Mizunara (on top of an initial ten years in Oloroso) delivers cloves, ground ginger, brown bread and baked banana. Its golden colour is entirely natural too, bottled with no chill filtration or added colour at 53.4% ABV. This a dram to really sit with, as subtle slivers of sultana linger on and a nutty creaminess rounds things out nicely.
As you can imagine with a rare oak like this, there’s limited stock available worldwide. Luckily for Club Members, we’ve got the entire Australian allocation of Glengoyne 16 Year Old Mizunara Oak.
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The Specs
- Price
- $495.00
- Age
- 16 Years Old
- ABV
- 53.4%
- Maturation
- Oloroso Sherry before a record 6 years in Mizunara oak
- Country
- United Kingdom
Glengoyne’s History
Nestled at the foot of the Campsie Fells, just north of Glasgow, Glengoyne has been making whisky since 1833. Originally known as Burnfoot Distillery, it operated during an era when illicit distilling was still widespread across Scotland before eventually becoming a fully licensed operation. Despite its Highland location, it actually sits right on the edge of the Lowlands.
Glengoyne has built its reputation around doing things slowly with stills that're among the slowest in Scotland, creating the rich, fruity spirit that's since become Glengoyne’s signature.
There’s no peat smoke here; Glengoyne dries its barley entirely with warm air, allowing the natural sweetness and fruitiness of the malt to shine through. The distillery is equally obsessive about its casks, with Sherry-seasoned oak playing a major role in many of its whiskies.
Most recently, Glengoyne wiped the floor with the competition at the latest International Spirits Challenge, beating out 98 other bottles to win the ‘Best Single Malt between 13 and 20 years old’ category trophy and picking up a Double Gold medal for its impressive 16 Year Old Japanese Mizunara Oak.
Distillery Facts
- Region
- Highlands
- Origin
- Glengoyne Distillery, Dumgoyne, Near Killearn, Glasgow, G63 9LB, United Kingdom
- Founded
- 1833
- Water source
- Loch Carron for process, Blairgar Burn for cooling
- Washbacks
- 6, wooden
- Stills
- 3 (1 wash, 2 spirit)
- Capacity
- 1,100,000 litres per annum
Member reviews
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