50 year old Scotch Whisky Exclusive to K&L – Scotch Whisky News
The last time we unveiled a 50 year old Scottish grain whisky from the Sovereign label the bottles sold out in less than two hours and we were left scrambling to find more. The problem with fifty year old Scotch is that there isn’t a whole lot of it floating around, especially at a price this affordable. We did manage to track down another on last trip to Glasgow, but we expect the same results this time around. Don’t wait on this one. Fifty year old whiskies that are within this kind of reach don’t come around that often.
Fresh off our most recent delivery are two new single barrels of Invergordon, a Whyte & Mackay Highland grain distillery that sits along the waters of the Cromarty Firth north of Inverness. For those of you who still can’t wrap your heads around grain whisky, just imagine Bourbon distilled to a higher proof and aged like single malt in various types of refill barrels. It’s basically high proof, column still whisky made from corn, wheat, or unmalted barley that’s pumped out in mass quantities to mix into blended Scotch. Because of that rather dubious reputation for quality, prices for grain whisky remain low. But because of our extensive tasting and sampling in the genre, we’ve learned that very old grain whiskies can be like liquid gold; smooth, round, and complex whiskies that are wood-dominated and creamy on the palate. This 50 year old is unlike anything we’ve had in the grain department before, something in between the Port Dundas and Cambus bottlings we’ve done in the past. Five decades (yes, fifty freakin’ years!) in a Bourbon cask have brought out incredible richness here. It’s so rich it’s bordering on the nutty rancio flavors one typically finds in sherry-aged Scotch with dark toffee and complex layers of oak. Then there’s the incredible price: $299. Try walking into your local liquor store and finding a fifty year old single malt for less than $600. Better yet, try finding a fifty year old whisky at all.
And if you want to try a fun comparison, we’ve got a second cask of Invergordon grain whisky at around half the age, and at less than half the price. We found the side by side comparison quite fascinating!
Fresh off our most recent delivery are two new single barrels of Invergordon, a Whyte & Mackay Highland grain distillery that sits along the waters of the Cromarty Firth north of Inverness. For those of you who still can’t wrap your heads around grain whisky, just imagine Bourbon distilled to a higher proof and aged like single malt in various types of refill barrels. It’s basically high proof, column still whisky made from corn, wheat, or unmalted barley that’s pumped out in mass quantities to mix into blended Scotch. Because of that rather dubious reputation for quality, prices for grain whisky remain low. But because of our extensive tasting and sampling in the genre, we’ve learned that very old grain whiskies. This 27 year old is textbook grain whisky, nothing more and nothing less. It’s fruity and round on the entry with a soft mouthfeel and a lovely note of vanilla on the finish. It’s no frills, no fuss whisky. It’s just flat out delicious.
K&L Wine Merchants http://www.klwines.com/ Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637) Email: wine@klwines.com San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA
