A while ago I reviewed a German cherry brandy from Beacon Spirits. In that same batch of samples I got a 1973 Invergordon. A bottler suddenly bottling a 1973 Invergordon is no longer a surprise since there have been several over the last couple of months.

This sudden slew of ancient grain whiskies (ethanol, wood and time, as Serge called it) was recently topped off by Whiskybroker (AFAIK the supplier of all these casks) released two for his own label at just £ 90 a pop. In this day and age it’s a steal!

Not all of them were to my liking. The first one I tried came from Whiskybase and I enjoyed that one, although I was not unhappy with only having 10 cl. I think by this time I should say that I’m not overjoyed by grain whisky like quite a lot of others. I recognize the quality, but the combination of flavors is not something I crave in a whisky.

Anyway, on last week’s short holiday I decided to bring a few samples, and this one was in the handful I grabbed from my stash.

Sniff:
The typical grainy sweetness is present and very prominent. It’s not too prominent, mind. A light graininess, some oak. I also get a whiff of paint stripper, but it’s so light that it’s actually quite acceptable. Some coconut and a whiff of something chemical.

Sip:
The palate is a bit more fierce than I expected after such a gentle nose. Sweet with flavors of wine gums, pear drops and canned pear. Some oak and white pepper, coconut, the chemical hint of thinner and a bit of a dry structure.

Swallow:
The finish is sweet, quite sharp and dry. Still rich though, with lighter hints of wine gums and pear drops. Oak, and a slightly warming feeling.

Well, in this case it might be so that the hint of paint stripper, or thinner, or whatever it is, is actually something that increases the complexity of an otherwise rather simple dram. It being simple is not a negative connotation, but something that is typical of grain whiskies in my book.

I think it’s a bit too sweet for my palate, but that’s mostly why I generally like grain whiskies a bit less than single malts, for example. This one, apart from the sweetness, is actually a quite lovely dram. I think the Belgians at Liquid Art and Beacon Spirits have picked a good cask from the bunch!

88/100

Invergordon 1973-2016, 43yo, 52.4% – Liquid Art with Beacon Spirits. Still available from Liquid Art for only € 165

Thanks to Bert Dexters of Beacon Spirits for the sample!