A truly ancient sample from the Master of Malt ‘Drinks by the Dram’ program. This was a Signatory vintage bottling, you know, the ones in those flower vases. I bought it because I never had anything from North British, and I wanted to check it off my list.

Luckily I was so smart to have the sample sit on my shelf for a couple of months, in which I forgot it and ordered it again later… Dumb-ass.

O, and by the way, North British is a grain distillery on the outskirts of Edinburgh. I have tried to get someone there so far as to give me a tour when we will be in the area soon, but they refused. I’d really like to see a grain whisky plant someday…

Nose:
A huge impact of European oak, with slightly burnt caramel, some banana. Stale raisin bread but also shoe polish and leather. Its a strange dram because it shows all the mature signs of a good single malt but it lacks a bit in complexity. I guess that can be expected from an old grain whisky.

Taste:
The mouthfeel is rather sweet and dry with some tannines. The taste is a lot like the nose with less development than I hoped for. It adds a bit of orange marmalade and other old dried fruits, lemon, apple. It also picks up a slight nutty aroma.

Finish:
A long finish, very long, where all flavours appear again but a lot more intense. Like an extract of European oak with all typical flavours. Quite nice and it makes it linger for ever.

This is a very typical grain whisky in my book, but since it has been matured/finished on an active sherry cask it has picked up many additional flavours that you usually don’t get in the typically bourbon cask matured grains. I like that about it, but I do think I tasted more of the cask than of the whisky.

North British 45, 1963, 50.7%, Signatory Vintage decanter, about 150 euros at Master of Malt.

Nose: 8
Taste: 9
Finish: 9
Overal experience: 8
Price/quality: +1

Total: 35 points