On sunday january 8th, i turned 40 years old. It was only fitting that i had a whisky as old as me. For over a year i have been waiting to open this bottle, a Ben Bracken 40 year old highland blended malt, a whisky that has lived in a barrel the same amount of time as i have been in this planet. Ben Bracken is a brand of scottish blended malts owned by a german retail store called Lidl. Bottled at 43% abv, in 2017, the youngest drop of this whisky was at least distilled in 1977 (like Star Wars!) On the nose, it is a great. Hay and recently baked brownies. Old macetared red fruits, strawberries. Rich rounded aromas. Red fruits syrup, lovely aroma, very elegant. After a first sip, it released chocolate, toffee and caramel "tastetemptions". Chocolate bar. On the palate it is pure perfection. Macerated fruits, welsh grape juice, blackberries. The second amazing sip gave me christmas hot chocolate. Raisins bathed in chocolate. Oranges, dehydrated fruits, candied fruits. Aftertaste is super elegant and not overly oaky for a 40yo dram. Pepper and ginger, Acid prunes and the juice from squeezing figs. Slightly hay smoke. Incredible Overall, this was everything you dream for a birthday dram, and the most amazing thing about it, is that this is not expensive at all for an age statement like that. This is a limited edition of only 2880 bottles, which might be hard to come by, but not impossible. Wonderfully elegant, fruity, flavorful. I had a very nice time with it. My score for this great blended malt, is 97 over 100.