STRATHISLA 1967 - GORDON & MACPHAIL RARE VINTAGE

The months of May has seen a couple of review of old sherry matured whiskies already, so why not continue with this one, a grand old Strathisla bottled by Gordon & Macphail of Elgin.

Strathisla is also know as Home of Chivas Regal as some of the malt that goes into the Chivas Regal blends comes from Strathisla Distillery. This time, however, I'll be focusing on a grand old malt from this distillery, matured for at least a good 47 years before being bottled in January 2015.

This one is bottled in Gordon & Macphail's Rare Vintage-series and is a beautiful example of how the first fill sherry butts have interacted with the Strathisla spirit - or as they say at G&M 'The wood makes the whisky'... you can read more about their wood policy here www.gordonandmacphail.com/wood

Strathisla Distillery in Keith, May 1st 2015 © The Malt Desk

Strathisla 1967 (bottled 26.01.2015) 43%, 1st fill sherry butts, Rare Vintage, Gordon & Macphail

Colour is light mahogany

Picture by G&M

Nose:
Strong whiff of strawberries, furniture polish, milk chocolate, prunes, mint/menthol - like tiger balm muscle warmer

Taste:
You get the obvious dark fruit sherry, yes - but there's more in here. There's cloves, orange peel, hint of cinnamon and then an amazing fruitiness mid-palate rushes in with vanilla baked apple, blood orange finished by rum/raisin ice cream notes and sweetened cough syrup.

This is brilliant stuff! It never feels tired in any way in spite of its age. Again, obviously a bottle from some great sherry casks of yesteryear, like the ones I talk about in this review.

91/100!

Official sample provided by Gordon & Macphail

STRATHISLA 1970 - ALAMBIC CLASSIQUE

Strathisla in the town of Keith is said to be the most beautiful distillery in Scotland.
Its owned buy the Chivas Groups and is also home to the Chivas Regal blend. It, among a few others, also claim to be the oldest distillery in Scotland, being founded in 1786.

Strathisla offers a good tour and a a nice visitors centre on site, though much of the theme there is related to the Chivas blend. On the other hand you can find a fair selection from other Chivas group distilleries in their shop like Glenlivet, Scapa, Glenburgie, Longmorn, conviniently sized for travel in 50cl bottles... and at cask strength! :-)

Review time now:

Strathisla 1970 42yo 52,9%, sherry cask#12306, 119 bottles total, Alambic Classique

Dark Amber in colour

Nose:
A little solventy/perfumy at first along with a nip of alcohol.
After it calms down it noses like a mix of oloroso and PX sherry. In there are raisins, Fernet Branca/Jägermeister - very herbal along with some mint and licorice root.

Taste:
Light arrival for an older whisky. I'm getting more of a distilled fruit/grape-style here like Armagnac/Cognac. Also some red fruit in here - strawberry maybe?.
Then it kinda evolves into raisin/plums and chocolate theme, like the danish Anton Berg 'Plums in Madeira' chocolate covered marzipan. A real dessert stonker, this one with a nice creamy mouthfeel!

90/100! Great old Strathisla... and at full strength as we like it!