Today I attended the yearly whisky tasting at Arrowine liquors in Washington DC - last year was entirely Kilchoman, a distillery very close to my heart. This year I had seven generous samples, all of which I documented thoroughly and will appear here. The first was was a 43-year single grain from Invergordon.
The tasting was accompanied by an extremely professional, compelling, and truly interesting presentation by Impex Beverages manager Jared Card, who explained how whisky was made from beginning to end - from grain to glass.
With the Invergordon he explained the difference between single malt and single grain, the different types of grain, and how something is given to age for 43 years and still comes out less than $300. This bottle was distilled in 1972, bottled at 48.2% ABV (no chill-filtering, no coloring). Likely wheat, as corn and barley are more expensive. Here were my thoughts:
Nose: Sour brine, tart white wine, glue/adhesive, vanilla, milk chocolate, white chocolate, grain. A very interesting nose, that was very tart - the glue scent was surprising, and dominant, and I think was really a result of the old wood combining with the grain sugars. It was quite intriguing, and popular in the tasting room.
Mouthfeel: Oily, moderate.
Palate: Alcohol bloom, oak tannins, grain, apples, cherries, chocolate. The wood influence was very strong, not quite at the "wood poisoning" level that some ancient whiskies have, but the wood was omnipresent. This was bottled at just the right point.
Finish: Fairly short. Light peat? Heavy wood, a little ash. With water, I got a small amount of orange flavor added to the rest.
Verdict: This is the oldest whisky I've ever tasted, but I have to say I wasn't extremely impressed. The wood really infiltrated the taste at every level. My tasting partner largely agreed with me, differing only that the palate held a little cinnamon. This was being sold for just shy of $300, and I didn't think it was worth it, honestly - but I'm also glad to have tried it.
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