Burberrys', Single Malt Whisky, Aged in Oak Since 1968, 43% abv.

Depending on the source this 19 or 20 year old undisclosed single malt was distilled in 1968 and bottled in 1988 for yes... Burberry's! The decanter is hand blown, if one couldn't tell, to replicate the 1780's style. The bartender doesn't know where it's from exactly, but he suspects its from Macallan or Glendronach. HOWEVER, malt maniacs suggests it's Glen Garioch. It's quite dark.

Nose: intense, boiled chopped celery and celery root, burnt raisins, ripe watermellon, very close to a nice, thick vegetable soup.

Palate: full bodied, oily, buttery, beets, meaty vegetables, lightly boiled fruits, like a well balanced sherry that held back on being too strong, the wet old steamed lotus leaves peeks in at the end after significant aeration, further suggesting its a sherry matured or sherry influenced whisky. Not too fruity, no smoke, no honey, more along the lines of well seasoned vegetable soup and sherry to be honest. Amazing.

Finish: short, cooling, a little minty, fruit paste.

Dry glass: wax, beet soup leftovers.

The nose is super enjoyable, the flavors are amazing and what I think a balanced sherry should be, the finish is also subtley flavorful. All this at 43% abv! I wish all those Master Blenders and personnel would have passed on their skills better, because the current industry just can't compare. This is one of those whiskies where I forgot to take notes during my initial taste, and then rushed to write down what I just experienced. After reading my notes it seems like I was describing an amazing Lowland malt, but I wasn't. Its in-between a Lowland and Highland (omg Midlands?), with significant contributions from sherry and additional fortified wines. This is an amazing whisky.

Grade: A

Malt maniacs, Olivier Humbrecht, 90 points for perhaps the same bottle but with the distillery "disclosed" as Glen Garioch

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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