Let’s have another sample from my Advent Calendar. A very old blend, distilled during the reign of King George V: John Haig Gold Label, bottled in the 1940’s!
Haig Gold Label (40%, OB, 1940’s)
Quite a ‘dirty’ colour, hazelnut with a slight green hue. Nose: lots of roasted and burnt notes: really dark caramel, coffee, truffle, ‘beurre noisette’, buttered toast… you get it. Lots of toffee notes and a slight whiff of smoke. It gets ‘darker’ up to the point where a few off-notes become noticeable, like sulphur, dirt bin and some yeast. Special and interesting in its own way, but still a bit weird. Rather weak on the palate, with the same types of flavours. Coffee, burnt caramel, sweet almonds. Some bitter notes, like cloves. The aftertaste is short.
This dram had to grow on me. At first, I was overpowered by the burnt notes and it took me some time to appreciate its profile. Still, I’m grateful for having tasted a part of whisky history.
It would be unfair to score this one. I don’t have any references for this kind of whisky and it wouldn’t matter anyway because this whisky is almost gone. TWE is selling a few bottles (€ 200 – 250).