pkingmartin
Fettercairn 40 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
April 29, 2022 (edited July 16, 2022)
To celebrate my 300th tasting, I decided to finally open my sample of this 40 year old single malt from Fettercairn that was distilled in December 1977 followed by aging in white oak ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in Apostoles sherry casks and finally bottled at 48.9% ABV.
The nose starts with a mix of cavernous minerality, dusty leather bound books and creamy tropical fruits then cocoa powder dusted prunes followed by caramelized peaches, dehydrated apricots and orange blossom that transitions to sweet pipe tobacco and antique polished mahogany furniture with medium ethanol burn.
The taste is rich oily mouthfeel starting with sweet creamy tropical fruits that quickly fades to old earthy notes of dusty leather bound books and cavernous minerality then toasted walnuts, black tea and cocoa powder dusted prunes followed by caramelized peaches, dehydrated apricots and mandarin orange peel that transitions to sweet pipe tobacco and freshly lacquered antique mahogany furniture with medium ethanol burn.
The finish is long with high percentage dark chocolate, dehydrated figs, light tropical fruits, cavernous minerality, black tea and dusty old leather bound books that lingers for minutes.
The 40 years of age is apparent with rich old polished wood notes running throughout this whisky that never veers towards an overaged bitterness along with creamy tropical fruits, citrus and a mild sour sherry that all work in harmony with exceptional balance before the long and lingering finish that continues to slowly reveal additional flavors minutes after each sip.
This is an absolute masterpiece that really shows what a well-aged whisky can become with time, patience and expert blending, but sadly at a price of $3000+, I don't think this will be a bottle I'll be buying any time soon unless I want to wake up to a Godfather-like scene where I see the empty bottle with the severed unicorn head logo with divorce paperwork inside.
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congrats pal!
Congrats on 300! Keep ‘em coming.
Congratulations- here’s to the next 300 🎉🍻
Well done on 300 reviews
Congrats on 3-0-0!!! Sounds like a fantastic pour to celebrate the milestone. I hope to hold up as well at 40 myself.
Congrats on 300! As the Spartans episode say, Ha-ooH! Ha-ooH! Ha-ooH!
Epic! Sometimes a unicorn bottle is actually a unicorn.
Congrats on a great milestone and an epic tasting!
Congrats on 300!
@PBMichiganWolverine no doubt. When I get that aroma, that’s what I recall as well: the 51. That musty library book aroma is just unique. Great stuff.
@Scott_E remember that musty old library book aroma from that Craigellechie 51yr old? That was probably the epitome of mature, dusty aroma
@Scott_E Thanks. Those dusty, musty notes are some of my favorites. @PBMichiganWolverine Ha, I was thinking the same thing when I pulled up the price tag. Glenfarclas 40 appears to be half the price and definitely has better name recognition.
@pkingmartin that’s really ballsy of Fettercairn to charge that much. They’re probably hallucinating, and accidentally thought they were a popular in-demand distillery 😀
I love the dusty, musty aroma that one often finds with very mature whisky. Congratulations on 300!