Tasting Notes by Jim McEwan MBE
Invergordon 1988 - 35 years old
Cask Type - Bourbon Barrel
Strength - 55.4%
Colour - Waving barley on a July day.
Aroma – Fragrant, friendly & sweet on every pass. It offers scents of honey, biscuits, spice, toasted oak & a drift of Bourbon plus a lot of soft fruits. Sweet dry cereal notes rise in harmony with the influence of the oak and just a whisper of spice from the bourbon that first filled the cask. It’s a super-smooth, clean, elegant and complex spirit. With the cereal sweetness shining through, the cask has produced a halo in which the spirit has travelled well and it’s still as fresh as a daisy - amazing!!
Palate - Absolutely divine, for a spirit of this age it’s outstanding, smooth, mellow, fresh, sweet & spicy. The mouthfeel is something special, and just to add to the flavour there still lingers a tiny hint of bourbon which is amazing! At this 55.4% it’s stunning, no water required. Just roll back the years and let the spirit tell you that you deserve to sometimes walk on the wild side!!
The texture is beyond belief. It’s a wonderful, delightful spirit and its journey began three decades ago! What a privilege to share such a fabulous creation for some moments in time.
Finish - This is a whisky you will remember long after it no longer exists!
The oldest whisky in the inaugural Dramfool’s Middle Cut release, this fine single grain whisky has been a favourite distillery of ours for many years. Having had the pleasure to release a select number before, this 35-year-old really stands up and shouts! At such an age it is a relic of the past and with the interest in grain whisky booming - when will we see a cask like this again…. soon we hope, but do not expect!
The Dramfool mantra of ‘only bottling whisky we like’ sits deeply at the core of all we do. Inspired by generations of distillers who create this remarkable drink, who choose the right cut of spirit that eventually becomes the whisky we enjoy and discard the others - we strive to do the same.
