Requested By
Jose-Massu-Espinel
Avonside-Glenlivet 1938, 33 Years old
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Jose-Massu-Espinel
Reviewed September 21, 2021 (edited September 22, 2021)I am celebrating my 800 whisky review with this special dram: Back in 1938, when the first TVs where sold, when the world war II didn't even start, when you could buy a whole suit for less than $1, back then this whisky was distilled. Then, 33 years later, after a sherry cask maturation, it was bottled. Sometime around the 1980s, the former owner of Pepsi, Mr. Richard Gooding, bought it and stash it in his "Perfect Collection". He died in 2014, and his 3.900 impossible whiskies went on an Auction. 83 years later of that first distillation, it came to my hands, and i was not going to make the same mistake as Gooding did... i drank the whisky. Avonside-Glenlivet is actually one of Gordon & MacPhail first bottlings, and in 1971 it was a little unusual to bottle a 33 year old whisky. When i found out that "the perfect collection" was going to auction, i told myself, "i am going to buy a bottle". I am a whisky nerd, so i have seen most of nowadays bottlings, but when i entered the auction, my mind was blown. The bottles were absolutely out of this world, most of them i have never seen before. There are no internet reviews, and they are mostly uncatalogued. This bottles existed 40 years ago, and believe me, the prices of them are very impressive. I didn't sleep for one week studying the whole collection, and i won 10 bottles. This Avonside-Glenlivet is one of them. Bottled at 43%abv, deep copper color. On the nose, incredibly sweet and elegant. Quince dessert, glazed pork, pork chop, dates, sherry spiciness; oranges, molasses and prunes. Rum. After a first sip, it released marzipan, cake and passion fruit. On the palate, a true sherry bomb. Sherriness all over the place, sawdust, old oranges, prunes and mild spiciness. A second sip gave me a super sweet orange caramel, pepper and astringent flavors. Aftertaste follow the same rythm. Pepper, sherriness, cherry syrup. Liquorice, a rum and raisins ice cream, ginger and cinnamon. Overall, this is a perfect whisky. Not only the history behind it was breathtaking, the spirir itself was outstanding. Full of flavor, elegance and complex notes, this is one sherry bomb. Nowadays, a bottle goes for around $3800 (i did not paid that); and if you ask me, if you pay that much for a bottle, this single malt (pure malt on the label), this quality is the least you expect. My score for it is 100 over 100. Fantastic experience. SlĂ inte Mhath!!!
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