Been off travelling, some good drinks too. 50s and 60s Bowmore, 60s Laphroaig, 60s Ardbeg, 60s Highland Park, 1972 Brora
Visiting some friends, and drinking some great old bottles. A pictorial record:
Bowmore 1957 / 1990 Moon Import 40%
Such elegance and nervous poise. I think of another very fruity 50s Bowmore..
Bowmore 31 yo bottled in 1989 ~ an “Intertrade” label 43%
Less overt fruit, more phenolic though a little muddled and oaky to be called great.
Bowmore 35 yo 1966 Kingsbury 43.7%
Exaltingly exuberant. Beautiful old Bowmore.
Bowmore 35 yo 1966 / 2001 Hart Brothers 43.7%
Neither age nor abv seems to hold back these old Bowmores, though a bit of a step down.
Bowmore 22 yo Seagulls ceramic ~ 1995 43%
Not a fruity style here, find salt and phenols instead. I expected better though.
Pride of Orkney 12 yo Gordon & Macphail 40%
We’re guessing Highland Park. Salty sea air, light rooty phenols and dried green things.
Highland Park 27 yo 1968 Hart Brothers 43%
Thick raisin-ed and cognac-like.
Brora 25 yo 1975 / 2001 Douglas Laing 43%
Waxy, oily somewhat disconcertingly clean though hints of peat and gravel poke through the mounds of dried grass.
Glenlivet 1939 Gordon & Macphail 40%
That it’s still alive impresses me greatly. Old rancio-ed sherry style.
Glenfiddich 18 yo Superior Reserve gold decanter 43%
MUCH better than any other 18 that came after. Lighthearted but honeyed and weighty-oily on the palate, a far cry from the spiritous waifs of today.
Laphroaig 19 yo 1969 Sestante Ships label 51.9%
Not terribly impressed despite the pedigree. I am willing to attribute this to being the last pour in the bottle. Short on fruits, full on salt, puzzling about the smoke.
Ardbeg 32 yo 1967 / 1999 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 47.5%
Earthy-pungent old Ardbeg full of rancio and half sunken boggy things.
Ardbeg 29 yo 1967 / 1996 Kingsbury #922 54.6%
Frighteningly massive amounts of smoke, oily earthy peaty and thick resinous old sherry, no wonder it carries such a reputation.
Bowmore Malt House Bowmore
No other information available, those who know know. Not the best Bowmore though.
Brora 22 yo 1972 Rare Malts 61.1%
Are you kidding. A phenomenal and utterly astounding beast.
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- Millburn 36 yo 1969 / 2005 Douglas Laing #DL2152 50% vs Glenburgie 40 yo 1963 / 2003 Signatory #4751 56.4%
- Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland for the Nectar #536 51.3% vs A Speyside Distillery 32 yo 1989 / 2022 Thompson Bros 51.4%
- Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 61.1% vs Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 58.7%
- Talimburg 19 yo 1986 / 2005 The Whisky Fair #1485 45.9% vs Talisker 20 yo 1981 / 2002 62%
- Caol Ila 12 yo Bulloch Lade for Zenith 43% vs Caol Ila 30 yo 1979 / 2010 Berry Bros #4604/5 55.6%
- Clynelish 29 yo 1965 Whyte & Whyte 52.1%
- Brora 21 yo 1982 / 2003 Signatory #416 58.4% vs Clynelish 27 yo 1982 / 2009 Synch Eli Daily Dram 46%
- Dornoch 5 yo 2017 / 2023 #46 ‘Jasper Broers’ 57.9% vs Shizuoka ‘private cask’ 2017 / 2022 #2017-108 61%
- Clynelish 26 yo 1993 / 2020 Carn Mor #11215 52.7% vs Bowmore 17 yo 2004 /2021 SMWS 3.327 ‘Siren’s Song’ 57.1%
- Talisker 25 yo ‘Bottle TA25 3987’ 45.8% ~ bottle code L0296CM004 bottled 2020 vs Ledaig 11 yo 2008 / 2019 The Swan Song & 1BRD #700104 58.7%
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