Strathmill 1976 35 YO Old Malt Cask

Strathmill 1976 35 YO Old Malt Cask, 47,2 %

Strathmill 1976 35 YO Old Malt Cask

A rare old whisky is on the test bench today. This is a release from Spesyside distillery Strathmill, established in 1891. They mainly produce for blends (J&B is a major one), and only released their first single malt in the Flora & Fauna series from Diageo in 2001.

The Strathmill 1976 35 YO Old Malt Cask is a single cask release from independent bottler Douglas Laing. It was distilled in April 1976, matured in a refill hogshead (cask #DL7817) and bottled in February 2012. The total outturn was 176 bottles.

If you can find it online you can expect to pay around € 200 for a bottle.

Nose: Sugar and ginger. Petrol and candle wax on a sugar cube. Fresh, green apples. Lemon zest and orange marmalade. Coconut, dried coconut flakes - tons of it! Wow, how very peculiar. In time I also find notes of pineapple.

Taste: Supersmooth. Spicy up front, then cool and sweet. Coconut milk, ginger soda, white pepper, and some oakiness. More oak on the second sip.

Finish: The finish is medium long. Mainly mild fruits now, water melon and pineapple mixed with coconut water. In fact it turns a bit watery towards the end.

Comments: I liked this one. I got a rather different set of associations than what I usually get from old Speyside whiskies, and I like that. Still not a favourite, but very enjoyable.

Score (84/100)

Thanks to Kjell for the sample!

Sláinte! - Thomas