Crown Vat 20 yo Blended 27th May 1966 Rotation 66/27 L.W. Cos 169 40% vs Macphail’s 10 yo Pure Malt Scotch Whisky Gold 106 60.5% Meregalli

Crown Vat 20 yo 61% Malt 39% Grain Blended 27th May 1966 Rotation 66/27 Sykes and Co. L.W. Cos 169 40%

Retained its freshness despite the age and low abv. Old school markers are checked. Camphor, old cabinets, potpourri sachets, compost, metal polish old silverware, dirty stones, soot, coal, machine oil, musty earth, a bit of funky fruit from an overripe sherry.  It really noses like an old style whisky, also note the high percentage of malt used here. A reminder from when blends had lots of character. 86 pts

Macphail’s 10 yo Pure Malt Scotch Whisky Gold 106 60.5% Meregalli

A lot going on here. Dried grass, diesel fumes, moldy fruit from a really fusty sherry, no really you only get these manky-sweet notes from old sherry butts, snubbed candles, dried out resins, dank warehouses, mushrooms, dark forest floor. Multilayered. Rotting wood, and some sort of umami bone broth with stale black pepper. Just great unnamed whisky. Tad simpler on the tongue though. Also don’t shy from the water. 89 pts