A while ago I got a bunch of samples as a surprise from LF, at the Dutch Whisky Festival. Already more than three months ago. Today I decided to try one, more or less as a test whether my nose is working again after having quite a cold over the last couple of weeks.

Something about having little children and not having any natural resistance due to 2 years of isolation, I guess.

Anyway, old Hart Brothers bottlings can be quite interesting. From what I’ve tried from their recent releases that seems to have stopped a few years ago. But, with this being bottled 25 years ago, I guess this does qualify as ‘old’. Let’s dive in!

Sniff:
Lots of barley with some vanilla in the background. Sand biscuits and oak, straw and a whiff of glue to make things interesting. The strange, slightly industrial note dissipates quickly, leaving mostly notes of pastry and vanilla.

Sip:
The palate is quite sharp with straw and grain being the most forward notes. The vanilla is far less noticeable here, which makes it less sweet and more dry at the same time. The palate stays rather sharp for an older bottling and a 43% ABV one at that.

Swallow:
The finish is rather mellow, with dry notes of barley and straw. There’s not a lot of oak to be found, but there are some notes of pastry. It’s not a long finish.

Well, as far as whisky goes, this one is rather generic. It tastes like the ingredients and maturation vessel, but nothing more. So, not very exciting, but not bad either. It doesn’t have any off-notes and that little note of glue I got on the nose makes it slightly more interesting, but otherwise this is very, very middle of the road.

83/100