South Island Single Malt 21 Year

Note: this is for a 23 yr old French cask New Zealander whiskey, not the one labeled here...but I was anxious to leave a review, and they didn't have this particular one listed (they're extinct now anyway). This is from a 3cl sample (another one of the many that I had bought last year during a UK business trip.) I love trying samples from closed distilleries. There's one part emotion of knowing that these are truly limited and will probably never be made again (especially a New Zealand one, where all it's distilleries closed.). it's really a rarity. The only other closed distillery I ever tried were from two amazing legacies--a 30 yr old Brora and a 21 yr old Rosebank. This one doesn't match up to its extinct Scotish cousins, but it's up there. Nose is like an Irish whiskey. Fruity, like gauvas and passion fruit. Exotic tropical fruits. Taste carries through really smoothly without the oak influence for a 23 yr old. It's more tropical fruits. More mangoes and gauvas, lime and oranges as well. This is amazing. I feel like I'm having one of the best lowlanders. Finish Is of eucalyptus and honey. Now more of a Speysider. Half of it is definately the thought of having a piece of history. The other half is just plain good craftsmanship.

I was lucky to try a sample of this a few years ago and it was one of the first bottles I purchased. It had such a beautifully delicately vanilla note. At Dramfest I mentioned to the distillery rep I still had a bottle and was told it was now worth around $700USD which given I paid $120 was a great return on investment but sadly I think it may have to be turned into my first investment bottle rather than drunk!