Glenglassaugh 1973 42 Year Cask #5638

Glenglassaugh tasting evening, Sydney, Feb 19th. Whisky #6 Nose: An astonishingly interwoven and complex aroma based around floral oak and vanilla. Pine tree resin, chocolate, frankincense (!), musk, lilac, violets, cinnamon, ginger, apple and turpentine (!!!) all make an appearance. Adding two drops of water enlarges the nose enough to fill the room. [The dry-glass aroma is old cigar-box with hints of sandalwood and damask rose]. Palate: A solid, but not harsh, oak arrival. Deep, dark nutty flavours (almost funky walnut, hazelnut, and pecan) together with earthy baking spices (nutmeg, cinnamon and clove) - but everything is mature, stately and poised. Nothing is brash, sharp or springs out from the background. There's a fruity presence in the development, but it's so complex as to defy analysis - stewed pears? stewed red apples? If you could mature a pear cobbler for 42 years it might taste something like this. The texture is - remarkable. It's like 10,000 angels having sex on your tongue. Finish: Medium. The rich palate seamlessly segues into the finish and slowly fades into an oaken memory. Distilled on the 9th of November 1973 (wow, I was still in high school) during the distillery's heyday, this whisky slumbered undisturbed in the same ex-bourbon barrel for 42 years. It was hand selected by Billy Walker for dumping on the 20th November 2016 and just 238 bottles were produced. This tasting was from bottle 98. There is a DNA similarity between this and recent production Glenglassaugh that is both exciting and reassuring to detect. It takes a big spirit to stand up to 42 years in the cask, and this has no problem coping at all - it could probably go another 20 years before falling apart. If there is one overriding sensation you derive from this whisky it is the presence of the oak. Wow, big reveal, huh? Yes, it's hardly surprising given the age, but it's not a prominent or sappy kind of oak. It's much more musky, dusky, quietly floral and refined and in a strange way it's almost like the oak has become liquid and intertwined with the alcohol molecules, which is I guess not far from the truth. The lignins have long ago started to break down and cellulose has transformed into esters that combine in astonishing ways with the fermentation esters of the new-make spirit. A magnificent, stately whisky - big, bold and characterful but now possessed of the seasoning of age that brings quietude and reason. It's comparable to Balblair vintages from the 60s and 70s. Old whiskies like this live in a special dimension of their own and it's always a privilege to taste them. It was the main reason I went to the tasting evening (I sure as heck couldn't afford to buy a bottle), and I suspect the same is true for many of the other participants. You can't score whiskies like this alongside other spirits, and any rating is pointless - they're just all worth 5 stars, however for what it's worth I gave this one of the highest percentage scores I've ever recorded in my tasting journal. "Truly Outstanding" : 93/100 (5 stars)