While looking over my recent reviews, I realized that I hadn’t tasted anything exceptional in the last few weeks. So I looked up a sample of a Strathisla bottled for The Whisky Fair a couple of months ago and which was received very well.

Gordon & MacPhail have the largest collection of old Strathisla casks, no doubt about that. Most of them seem to be ex-sherry casks, but this is a bourbon matured Strathisla.

Strathisla 49 yo 1960 (53,2%, Gordon & MacPhail for The Whisky Fair 2010, Book of Kells)

Nose: wow, great start packed with aromas. Sweet notes of honey, apricot marmalade and dates. Lovely. Almonds. Orange peel. Balsam and pollen. A bit of pine wood. There’s also a superb “un-freshness” to it: old cellars with whiffs of diesel. Works perfectly here. Outstanding complexity. Mouth: oily and oaky. Dried herbs. Bitter oranges and liquorice. Quite some resin again. Walnuts. Just enough fruit to stay interesting, but certainly less complex than on the nose. Also a faint phenolic / tarry edge which gets stronger when you add water. Its minty side is amplified as well. Finish: long with oak and oranges.

An excellent Strathisla that is worth discovering if you have a chance. The oakiness is pretty well controlled for a 50 year-old (well, almost 50…) and the dusty elements make it really worthwile. Sold out – worth around € 300.

Score: 92/100