I've saved this tasting for awhile, some very rare and old whisky. Actually the second oldest vintage I've ever tasted, 1946 Glenlivet, beaten only by a 1938 Mortlach. Also a Glenlivet "pure malt" called Highland Lady that I'm very curious about.
Glenlivet 22yo 1968-1990 50.1% Signatory Vintage cask#4828,4829 btl.256/1300
One of the very early bottlings from Signatory, many of them were great and established SV as an attractive indie. I think that more recent bottlings often holds more average quality. The color is golden. It smells of vanilla, peaty, peppery, flinty, concrete dust, malty, minty, toothpaste, basil leaves, extremely fresh for its age, but not in any way does it seem any younger than 22yo. Rich and minty sweetness. The taste is sweet, mandarin, honey, butter, stewed onions, butterscotch, dry white wine, fino sherry with less bitter notes, sulphur, smoked barley, cured ham. The finish is peppery, sweet, caramel, dark chocolate, creamy and coffee.
Superb Glenlivet, good there was a big number of bottles from these casks: 9
Glenlivet 28yo 1977-2005 53.6% James MacArthur's Old Master's cask#19753
These Old Master's bottlings from J.McA are a must-have for anyone that want to try older great whisky without spending a couple of pay-checks and still get that old quality which is so rare these days. But not all are shining stars. The color is golden. It smells of malt, citrus, spirity, ginger, lemon peel, oregano, bail, cumin, a lot of cumin going on here. Rather short nose compared to the SV. The taste is sweet, honey, vanilla, banana, creamy, not creamy like dairy cream, more like honey thick. After that initial sweetness it turns peppery, pistachio, a bit burnt and it has a rather peppery, oaky and burnt finish, which is really a nice contrast to the intensely sweet start. Balances this one out perfectly.
Great stuff, just lacks that magic old style of the 1968: 8.5
Glenlivet 21yo 56% OB/IB? Highland Lady
This says Pure Malt, but since the label states "Glenlivet" I'm assuming its a single malt. The underline text says "Glenlivet... long in wood... mild as milk and the true contraband gout on it" Elizabeth Grant Memoirs of a Highland Lady. I should've done some more research on this bottling, but that might ruin some of my growing curiosity when it comes to this whisky. The color is amber brown. It smells of raisins, mandarins, oily, cigars, malt syrup, honey, lavender, olives, dark grapes, dry red wine, tannic, marzipan, lamp oil, I could go on and on, but I guess this is the sort of malt that carries so much scents that everyone would come up with different notes. Superb stuff! The taste is leather, sweet, honey, cinnamon, oranges, butter, toffee, zinfandel red wine, oysters, caramel, ashes, tea, peaches, heather, vanilla, meringues, little by little I'm discovering there is such a thing as a perfect sherried whisky.
All about this whisky I'll never know, and that's probably best: 10
Glenlivet 25yo 1976-2001 59.9% James MacArthur's Old Master's cask#4311
Bottled one year before the rather excellent 1977 from same series of same bottler. But with a much higher strength. How will it compare? The color is amber orange, borderline light brown. It smells of fresh thyme, flinty, butter, minty, ashes, cigar smoke, coal, vanilla, licorice, pistachio, basil. This is one of them that leans on the edge between perfection and "almost there". The taste is creamy, vanilla, cinnamon, honey, oaky, butter, caramel, raw onions, kiwi, red wine, vinegar, slightly perfumy. The finish is burnt, peppery, honey, drying.
I'd say this just edges the 1977, but very different: 9
Glenlivet 50yo 1946-1996 40% Gordon & Macphail
The label states this as "Rare Highland Malt", I guess the rare part is just because of its age, as Glenlivet really is one of the most available whiskies out there. After tasting the prior ones it this session, it'll be hard to to anyone, really. But this should be a bit special, and if bottled today it'd probably be at CS. The color is amber. It smells creamy and buttery, sweet vanilla, floral, raspberry jam, orange chutney, indian light spices, turmeric, garam masala (I know its a mix), and cardamum, even some cinnamon and fish stock in this one. The taste is clean, leather, red paprika, chili, spices, orange zest, honey, vanilla, figs, dates, white grapes. This is absolutely superb, one of them whiskies you probably only get one chance to try, and if at CS, I'd guess it'd be a 10'er, but as of now, it just seems a tad too mundane.
Superb, the quality is beyond anything Glenlivet could accomplish today, I think: 9.5
Next tasting: Laphroaig Distillery
PS: http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/jhb/whisky/gleanings/hilady.htm
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