Unheard-Of Pricing on a Fully Mature Highland Gem
Glen Oak 28 Year Old Single Malt Scotch (750ml)
(Previously $300) ($149.99)
“It feels like whisky from a bygone era, and in many ways it is.”
— Andrew Whiteley, K&L Spirits Buyer

Let’s start with the obvious—we almost never see a 28-year-old whisky from one of the Highland’s most famous names at anywhere near this price. While the bottler can’t disclose the source of this beautifully mature dram, we can tell you that it’s among the most recognized and revered names in Highland whisky. When it first came along a few years ago, it was already an impressive bargain at the original $300 SRP, but now at 50% off and just $150, it’s in the running for the best collectible Scotch buy of the holidays.

Glen Oak 28 Year Old Single Malt Scotch (750ml) (Previously $300) ($149.99)

K&L Notes: This well-aged single malt comes to us under a discontinued independent label, but it was sourced from a blue-chip Highland distillery many years ago. Unfortunately, we aren’t allowed to explicitly share the producer’s name here, but you might rightly deduce that any distillery with enough old juice to sell at this kind of price is one of the big boys. One walk through this Scottish valley and you’ll definitely want mo’e of it at this price. Comparable bottlings from the distillery, when they declare a particular vintage bottling as Grand, regularly approach four figures and are rarely this old. This bottle, at a very easy drinking 40% ABV, is rich and luxurious in the mouth. Tons of caramelized stone fruits and sweet baking spices on the nose and palate. The finish is clean and inviting of another sip. It’s rare to see a Scottish single malt priced like a similarly aged Armagnac, but that’s exactly what we have here.

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: November 16, 2023

This whisky evokes a deep memory as a young man, sharing a dram with my grandfather. Not that this is what we were drinking, mind you, but it just feels old-school. Such rich malt flavors that are at the same time super soft and approachable. It’s one of those rare personal experiences that reminds me of falling in love with Scotch for the first time. It feels like whisky from a bygone era, and in many ways it is. There surely isn’t much well-aged, blue-chip distillery stock floating around the market these days without an astronomical price tag. Let’s have a go: The nose has a big display of honey-drizzled, freshly cut stone fruits, perhaps on a bed of toasted granola and cream. Oxidized cinnamon and nutmeg add intrigue. Baked bread and honeydew melon come through with time in the glass. It rolls around the palate, supple and thick. Sweet and malty are the predominant taste notes. There is a ton of vanilla as well, and just enough barrel tannin to provide something to chew on. While it isn’t a bomb of any kind or a big bruiser, high-ABV, crazy single cask, this is such a delightful and good-natured Scotch that I have to tip my hat and pour one out for Granddad with a smile.

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