In 1966 the Beatles released Rubber Soul and shortly thereafter John Lennon infamously said that the band were bigger than Jesus. Meanwhile their cockney contemporaries. the Rolling Stones, saw Brian Jones make his last performance with the band. A little further down town Jimi Hendrix arrived in London for the first time with his Experience and laid down Hey Joe, soon to be his first breakout hit.
On the world’s stage, Harold Wilson was voted in as British prime minister whilst Lyndon Bains Johnson was US President, and something happened in the football world that hasn’t happened again since, but still gets mentioned a lot…
Outside of the world, the first “space selfie” was taken, where Buzz Aldrin took the first photo of themselves outside their spacecraft.
Meanwhile, in a little corner of Scotland, the Fettercairn distillery was dutifully distilling its spirit through its unique river-cooled still and laid down some of that spirit in some ex-bourbon barrels…
Two generations later, I was lucky enough to taste that spirit.
Under the ownership of Whyte & Mackay, the Fettercairn distillery had only released occasional single malt releases, but the times were a-changing and with a very fresh new look and plenty of old stock available, a new core range of single malt whiskies was launched in 2018 with an awesome foursome of age statement releases: an 12, 28, 40, and 50 year old. (Click here for the side by side tasting notes).
Reaching just over half a century in age, this whisky was first distilled on 11th June 1966, and, just like its (significantly) younger siblings, this whisky has spent the majority of its life being matured in those classic American white oak ex-bourbon casks. It then spent its 5 final years in tawny port pipe casks before being bottled at its natural remaining cask strength of 47.9% ABV. When it was released in 2018. a full size 70cl bottle would set you back by £10,000 – nowadays it’s up to £24,000!! And that’s retail!
Nose
Its rich. Its flavoursome. It has had 5 whole decades encased in wood and it shows. Despite that provenance and maturity it still somehow remains quite light in body. Amongst all of the seasoned oaky/wooden tones, there still manages to be fruitiness and sweetness amongst the spice. Cherries, sloes, damsons, plums, and even some blackcurrant jam flavours are fighting for your attention amongst the festive spice melee.
Taste
Like an absolutely sodden Christmas cake. Rich. Thick. Unctuous. (I don’t break that word out too often). So many flavours revealing themselves through time. The boozy dark cherries really stand out here too. Like they’ve come straight out of the cake or have been encased in some very high percentage dark chocolate. Speaking of sweet stuff, this there’s plenty of treacle in here and even some cola cubes. Thick red and purple fruits come in from the port too (strawberries, cherries, plums, blackcurrants and even black grapes). There’s a thick tobacco note underlying the whole gambit of tasting notes that are rolling out.
Finish
50 years in a cask and she just wants to get out! There’s some fire in this finish. And by fire, I mean spice. Ginger and nutmeg, to be precise. Fresh stem ginger at that. The fruity flavours then seem to reappear as you breathe afterwards with a rich, stewed jam consistency of sweet berry goodness.
Verdict
This could be the cure for the common cold. At the price commanded for a bottle, it may well be. £10,000 per bottle originally made this over £350 per measure, and at today’s price its nearly £860 for a single, or £1,720 for a double. Mind-blowing. Bonkers. It is/was an absolute rarity and treat. Not something to be taken lightly.
Why post this now? Well… despite not hailing from Scotland, my love of their whisky and heritage has seen me adopt Burns Night as part of the WU calendar. It is a chance to enjoy Robert Burns poems, boil the various components of the traditional haggis, neeps and tatties for ages and ages, and then spend ages faffing with my recipe for whisky sauce – one for the pot, one for the cook – and loosely justify enjoying scotch whiskies well into the evening. It seems appropriate then, whilst the kitchen fills with steam, to post about one of my favourite whisky experiences: the oldest single malt I’ve tried to date.
For anyone who enjoys whisky, tasting something like this is a landmark moment. One that will seldom be repeated again.
The whole experience of nosing, tasting, and savouring this whisky was truly something to remember. I’ve tried several whiskies in their 30s and 40s and the thing that happens each time (as those instances are few and far between) is that I am reminded that old whisky is a different class of whisky. The unctuousness (yes, I’m breaking that word out again) and depth of flavours requires a decent amount of time to really enjoy these whiskies. The 50yo was next level beyond that. Maybe I’m just getting wrapped up in the number, but it really did merit taking my sweet sweet time with it. And it delivered more and more as time went on.
I don’t usually focus on the colour of a whisky, but good grief this is something special. Just look at the picture above! Sure, the port cask is probably bringing the final dark red tint, but 45 years of contact with ex-bourbon barrel oak is going to tarnish you somewhat. In pure Ron Burgundy style, it does look like (and maybe even smells a bit like) rich mahogany. This is an absolute treat for the senses and just keeps delivering and having flavours unfold.
If I had a full size bottle of this would I put in the WU cabinet? No. You wouldn’t find it in there. It’d be locked away somewhere in perfect conditions to keep this gem safe and ready for the most special of occasions to sample it. In fact, sampling it is a special occasion in of itself. Remarkable stuff and an honour to be entrusted to sample and write these notes.
M
Sample disclosure: These samples were sent through to Whisky Unplugged as part of a tweet tasting event organised by Steve Rush @TheWhiskyWire in conjunction with Whyte and Mackay to promote the new releases and rebrand of the Fettercairn distillery. All notes however have been made as honestly, fairly, and independently as possible to reflect my own thoughts on the whisky. Please drink responsibly. Please drink wisely.
whisky unplugged 
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