Out to dinner with my family for my 30th birthday, it felt like the right time to actually treat myself to an obscenely expensive dram. Since it was something I knew I wanted to try it was a pretty easy decision to make.
Minutia: Cask recipe is proprietary. Distilled in 1990, bottled in 2013, tasted June 30, 2019. Enjoyed neat in a tumbler at Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan.
Color: Dark copper. I was stunned to see how dark this was in the glass.
Nose: Malt forward. Maybe some plum. Anise. Overall “airy” feel. Some other kind of fruit, probably some kind of grape.
Taste: Comes alive in a big way. It’s difficult to explain just how big this comes in without swearing. There is an amazingly fruity burst, malty undertone, spicy wood, and a funk. The funk doesn’t necessarily taste of cheese, but it is the kind of funk a sharp cheese has.
Finish: Malty, warm but not spicy. It tasted old in that way whisky and tobacco can taste that sounds bad but really is a good thing.
I’m very glad I spent some time acclimating to higher ABV to be able to appreciate this as more than any old whisky. I am very happy I had the opportunity to experience this on my 30th birthday (way too rich for my blood otherwise). This dram could easily disappoint because expectations are so high it would be difficult to meet. But they are that high deservedly. If this was the same price as Blue Label and as available as that, I don’t think there would be a shelf without a bottle.
Score: 90
A note on the score: the nose scored lower than the palate, finish, and overall impression in my notebook. If the nose was just a tiny bit more to my preference this would have been my highest scored whisky so far. It’s very complete and as a peathead I still found so much to enjoy about this despite a complete lack of that flavor. If you have an opportunity to try this, you must go for it. I’ll be a bit less motivated to try other editions due to the cost and my means at present, but it will definitely remain on my radar.
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