That Boutique-y Whisky Blended 50 yr old Batch 1

Nose: Deep, elegant oak and sherry, inextricably intertwined. Heaps of rancio. Cloves, dark fruits, plums, oloroso sherry (but held in great restraint). There's a touch of treacle or molasses and a soupçon of anise and mint. The nose has great depth and continues to unfold over time eventually showing chocolate, leather, orange oil and espresso notes. Adding water unleashes a torrent of orange marmalade and grapefruit aromas, but sadly the lovely musty depth of the neat aromas is lost. A supurb nose highlighting very old grain whisky aromas. [The dry-glass aroma is like the memory of ancient maple syrup, aged in a toasted cask for decades]. Palate: The initial tasting is surprisingly bright and flinty on the arrival for a whisky of this age with lots of leather and tobacco. Stewed fruits and sherry appear as it develops along with sour cherry and some bittersweet orange cake. There's a touch almost like madeira or plum brandy after some time resting in the glass. There is also a mighty lot of old oak tannin lurking in the background that gives the arrival its hardness but you only identify it positively once you're into the development, as it rises to take prominence. The texture is mouth-coating with that mild astringency you get from old sherried whisky. Adding water softens the arrival but does not change the tannic rise in the development. It adds a touch of sweetness throughout the palate and makes the texture a little creamier. Finish: Long. Dark cherry, leather, old fortified wine and a distinct rum-and-raisin chocolate aftertaste with side flavours of oak. Licorice becomes apparent after a while and is the final echo. A lovely, elegant nose. I could happily sit nosing this dram for hours without ever bothering to taste it. The palate is a little tight and confused at first tasting but it opens excellently over time. I'd recommend you give this a brief nose and taste to set your palate but then concentrate on the nose for 20 minutes or so before taking another taste. Sip and savour slowly at intervals to experience the progression. With considerable time the many facets of the palate recombine into dense, dark fruitcake with overtones of tobacco, sherry and oak. Adding water (and if you do only a few drops) softens the dram but mutes it strongly. Personally I prefer this neat. Excellent stuff. I've never seen this in Australia, I guess we had no allocation. Many thanks to @Soba45 who sent me a tasting sample shared from a sample he received from @PBMichiganWolverine. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

A man bought his 5 year old daughter and 4 year old son to meet Santa in the park. Afterwards the man asked his daughter if she enjoyed seeing Santa and she said no because that wasn't him. Why do you think that he asked? Well she said I could see he had another set of clothes under his suit and when I asked him where his sleigh was all he said was hohoho. And so begins the Santa chronicles #4. It's not often you get to try whiskies which are 50+ years old and it's even rarer that Santa delivers them. Well in the age of outsourcing and the reindeer being made redundant it was actually FedEx who did the job but who really cares as Santa aka @PBMichiganWolverine does actually exist in real life boys and girls and even better he has a crazy great stash of top shelf stuff this being one of them. Oak, liquorice, molasses and more. It positively oozes age. The man would love know which distilleries comprised this and the man suddenly thinks about Game of Thrones where the faceless man also refers to himself as the man and thinks great series but man that ending sucked. Anyhow thanks once again PBM!

So I wanted to open up a special bottle as a celebratory pour for my son getting a scholarship. The little rugrat scored 99.999% on a math state exam. But my original bottle I wanted to open up was a 43 yr old Speysider. I searched and searched my vault of 550-650 bottles...and at this point, I don’t know what more pathetic: that I have 550-650 bottles, or that I ran out of patience after 1 hour of fruitless searching. What I did find though was this 50 yr old blend. Reportedly, the latter batches weren’t all that great, but I’m hoping this batch 1 lives up to its Whiskybase score of 91. It’s really not often one has something this old. Just step back and take things in perspective: 50 years ago was the first manned moon landing; since then we’ve seen so much growth in all areas of technology, medicine, economics, and culture. Whether one likes this pour or not, it’s well worth noting the symbolism. I had just a few sips, so basing my take on an initial little pour: The best part is the nose. Candied ginger, caramel , a bit of salty brine. Taste is a step down from the nose unfortunately. Still good, but the tease from the nose led me to expect more. Silky smooth. Definitely some sherried malt. Five decades smoothed out any grain roughness. Understated elegance. The only other time I had something this old ( one year older actually) was a 51 yr old Craigellechie that my buddy @Scott_E graciously took me as a guest. It’s hard not to compare the two, but also hard not to acknowledge the similarity —namely the silky smooth elegance, the subdued flavors without any particular one standing out, and the impact ( or lack thereof) of wood. I’d expect 5 decades in wood will be a lot, but cask management skills are key I guess. Anyway... @Scott_E @LeeEvolved @Telex @dubz480 @Generously_Paul —I’ll be sending this your way—hopefully you’ll enjoy it. @Richard-ModernDrinking I’m saving you a pour for our next event.