30 years old, distilled 8th November 1983, 45.3% abv, refill ex-bourbon hogshead, 100 bottles

The nose has cigar boxes, kiwi fruit, melon, mango, banana and passion fruit. The body has a thin mouth-feel with a little cling, and flavours of tobacco and the fruits from the nose, alongside a curious caramel note. The finish is caramel and mango.

After water (which whorls tightly and quickly) the nose has much more balance - the cigar boxes are now in the background, and the fruit is more complex. Poise and elegance are now very obvious. The body is much weaker though - the tobacco doesn’t quite let the fruit stand out as it does in the nose. The finish is tobacco and caramel.

An interesting old dram, but I can’t decide if it was bottled too late or too early.

2.5/5