That was the theme of the tasting I went to last Saturday. Joeri and Peter from Glen Drammor in Purmerend hosted this tasting with bottles that held a special place in their hearts or that they were really interested in. They called it the € 1000 euro tasting, mostly because € 1160 euro tasting didn’t have the same ring to it. Of course, it’s the combined value of the bottles.

Invergordon 37, 1972, First Cask, 44%
A very light and perfumy grain whisky from the Highlands that had many aromas of flowers, peardrops, lemondrops and vanilla. Almost no wood on the nose. In the background there was a hint of chamois leather (how’s that for specifics). On the palate it’s a little bit sharper than expected at 44%, still quite light and a bit spicy too. Crushed black pepper and chilis. I think I get a hint of nuts. The finish is more sweet and crema catalana, flowers and coconut.

Dufftown 30, 1978, Alchemist, 46%
A very expensive Alchemist whisky. Alchemist being one of my least favorite bottlers, I was a little bit skeptical. On the nose it smelled dry and chalky with some paper, licorice, straw and old sherry with nuts. The sherry is almost savory. The palate is way sharper than everyone expected with lots of old sherry, dry and tingling. It has pickled fruit with chilis too. The finish went back to the licorice with some wood (I would have guessed white oak, which would be wrong) and almost no fruit.

Glen Grant 37, 1972, Berry’s Own Selection, 51.8%
This was a weird whisky. It is drawn from a sherry cask, but lacked all the European Oak scents and flavors. My and Joeri’s guess was that it came from an American Oak sherry cask. Fresh and reasonably fruity but also a tad of pickled fruit. Plums, chocolate mousse and walnuts too. On the palate it starts fairly sharp but becomes much more friendly than the previous 46%er. The finish is fresh, long and I even think to get a hint of salt (?). A little bitter towards the end, but not in a bad way.

Springbank 37, 1970, Chieftain’s, 43%
Why did the idiots at Chieftain’s water this down? I really don’t understand that. Apart from that, terrific stuff. It took some time to open up and it was a very good thing to taste this after the break. It’s very smooth, with salt, barley, wood, a hint of Dutch cheese, salmiac and licorice. In the background some fruity things are happening. The flavor is light as well, and crisp, salty but becomes more and more sweet with peaches and vanilla. Very complex and very hard to pinpoints the flavors. The finish is a little dry and chalky with some cardboard and cereals. The last flavor I got was pineapple.

Glenlivet 31, 1978, Adelphi, 53.9%
Breadsticks and again a savory sweet sherry variety. A little fruity with some aceton on the nose. Good, but not overly exciting (Glenlivety). The flavors is sharp and dry, sweet and fruity, quite spicy with some fruit syrup. I even think I get cactus flavors. The finish is sweet, full and long with fruit (I get strawberry).

Caol Ila 31, 1979, Berry’s Own Selection, 53.1%
Very light and quite austere at first, the peat has been calmed by the wood. I do still get some rope, sea weed, salt and it has the typical Caol Ila milky and oily flavors. Also some lavender which reminds me of Bowmore. The palate is quite sharp and shows much of the scents back in its flavor. Very smooth and subtel actually. The finish is full and floral, salt and the smoke is more prominent here than on the palate.

Extra sip: Bunnahabhain 1973, Celtic Heartlands, 46.1%
A single sip from this exquisite bottle gave spicy bunnahabhain with curry spices. Very atypical. Crisp and a little thin. Wood, heather and warming pepper. Also courgette (strange) and then light sherry. Maybe a tad too thin?

(I’ll add pictures tomorrow, can’t find the cable to my phone)