What is you oldest bottle?

[I_SPEY]

Macallan 50 yo in wooden case, with certificate and number on. Distilled between 1926 - 1928.

The bottle is unopened.

[jmrl]

I forgot to mention my oldest bottle is a North of Scotland 1964 Single Grain, bottled in 2003. That's my oldest for sure!

I've got one of these - remarkably good stuff.

Also got a Gordon & Macphail 1949 Glen Calder blend 40% which I'll be opening for 1940s - 80s tasting soon. (sorry I've got more plugs than Bathrooms R Us) I'll also open G & M 1958 Glen Gordon. Anybody know what this is? Glen Gordon was originally the name to be used for Balvenie - it can't be this, can it?! I noticed somebody trying to sell Glen Gordon from an earlier vintage and say it was Glen Elgin. It could of course be both.

If its no good I'll put in an old bottling of Haig from the 50s. An old dear wanted shot of it but I had to say I'll open it here in front of you in case its water! There were no age/strength statements as the back label had never been applied, it was suspiciuosly perfect fill and clarity. It turned out to be real but my purchase was certainly off the resale list!

The shop has a 1919 50yo Springbank (£14000) the boss said I could taste his open bottle which made me suspicious (I am paranoid) turns out it was merely a 40yo. The manager in the Campbeltown shop dropped and smashed their 'dummy' display bottle, the room filled with the sad aroma of spilt whisky - doh. There is also a 1937 50yo Glenfiddich £5500.

[Di Blasi]

I forgot to mention my oldest bottle is a North of Scotland 1964 Single Grain, bottled in 2003. That's my oldest for sure!

I've got one of these - remarkably good stuff.

Also got a Gordon & Macphail 1949 Glen Calder blend 40% which I'll be opening for 1940s - 80s tasting soon. (sorry I've got more plugs than Bathrooms R Us) I'll also open G & M 1958 Glen Gordon. Anybody know what this is? Glen Gordon was originally the name to be used for Balvenie - it can't be this, can it?! I noticed somebody trying to sell Glen Gordon from an earlier vintage and say it was Glen Elgin. It could of course be both.

If its no good I'll put in an old bottling of Haig from the 50s. An old dear wanted shot of it but I had to say I'll open it here in front of you in case its water! There were no age/strength statements as the back label had never been applied, it was suspiciuosly perfect fill and clarity. It turned out to be real but my purchase was certainly off the resale list!

The shop has a 1919 50yo Springbank (£14000) the boss said I could taste his open bottle which made me suspicious (I am paranoid) turns out it was merely a 40yo. The manager in the Campbeltown shop dropped and smashed their 'dummy' display bottle, the room filled with the sad aroma of spilt whisky - doh. There is also a 1937 50yo Glenfiddich £5500.

Thanks for the tip jmrl. The distillery is confusing though, is it North British? My search last year turned up almost blank. What else can you tell me about it? The first characteristic that comes to your mind regarding it??

[Deactivated Member]

Mikey, what does "12up" and "20up" mean?

I have an Invergordon single cask single grain, one of 83 bottles, 1971/35yo, bottled by Bladnoch, and I think the oldest I've owned in terms of maturation age. I have a G&M Cask Bruichladdich that is oldest by distillation date, 1969/1997. I've had another of the latter previously.

[Ganga]

UP stands for underproof. Older terminolgy. Proof was considered 100. Therfore 20 UP would be 20 underproof or 80 proof.

[Willie JJ]

My friend came back with the 1951 Glen Grant from the airport



Nice aren't they?

[woodhill]

Wow I must have been drinking,

I'm seeing Quintaple!

[mikeymad]

UP stands for underproof. Older terminolgy. Proof was considered 100. Therfore 20 UP would be 20 underproof or 80 proof.

Correct and this is the old definition of proof as well. not the standard double APV as it is today. So I recall that the old 20up = 80proof is more like 43% not 40%.

It is funny that I goto these tastings, and they say 'here in America you use proof not %'. I always use %, so I am not sure where that came from in the last couple years.

Cheers,

[mikeymad]

UK proof was 70 deg = 40%, so 80 proof was 45.7

US proof may have been different?

I think that US proof was different...

I knew I should have said 46%...

Thanks for the information.

Cheers,

[Eric m]

Springbank 1967 my birthyear .
Eric.

[Di Blasi]

Welcome Eric m, sounds like a real special bottle there. Enjoy it!

[Eric m]

Thanks and yes the whisky is stunning 1967 must have been a good year!It took a long time before i opened it and still i don`t regret it.
Eric.

[woodhill]

My oldest OPEN bottle is the 1969 37yo Strathclyde Grain by DR.

I also have a sealed Macallan 1965 17yo.

[Ras Mazunga]

Saint-Christeau Armagnac 1976, mis en bouteille le 15 fevrier 2006.
This was a birthday gift for my girlfriend, her vintage year.

Nose: paprika in dishwater. Taste: raisins, little sour, fresh, mint.

I have a 25 yo Highland Park. Don't dare to open it, this is my most expensive bottle ever.

[Deactivated Member]

Nose: paprika in dishwater.

Heh heh...hope Johnyy doesn't read that one.

I have a 25 yo Highland Park. Don't dare to open it, this is my most expensive bottle ever.

You don't dare not! Beautiful, beautiful whisky. What good is it closed? Did you pay all that money just to look at it?

[Ras Mazunga]

The Hp25 was a gift. There are several reasons why I didn't open this bottle yet, I have already too many bottles open and I want to drink this whisky with a nice dessert. Nearby where I live there is one of the best pattisiers in the world, their cakes are as pricey as an average single malt... But I get the message.
The most expensive bottle I bought is Balvenie 21 Portwood, this one I'll open on the March 29 Live tasting.

[I_SPEY]

My friend came back with the 1951 Glen Grant from the airport



Nice aren't they?

Very nice, Willie JJ, I love these bottles
Could you give me the name of your friend?

[Deactivated Member]

The oldest bottle I have is 1954 (Strathisla), but in just over a month at Spirit of Speyside I should be trying the oldest whisky ever bottled - a G&M Speymalt Macallan bottled at 65yo.

[Deactivated Member]

Me, too. The frustrating thing to me, though, is that when something like this is presented, it's usually the last of half a dozen or so in an evening of tasting. When I have a chance at something that is definitely once-in-a-lifetime, I want it to be the first thing I taste that day. To approach it with anything less than a fresh palate seems to me a waste.

[Zarathustra]

Just picked up a 37 year old Bunnahabhain for $160. It's an IB (Malt Trust), so I guess that decreases the value somewhat, but still -- 37 years!!

[whiskyhibby]

A bottle that is roughly 1910 - 1920 in date George Roe Dublin distillery

G Roe.jpg

G Roe 2.jpg

Whiskyhibby

[Deactivated Member]

I agree that the tasting order is important, but it isn't always as rigid as all that. At the Jolly Toper tastings that jmrl runs, the order is less predictable. The star bottle could come near the beginning if the flavour profile justifies it. And at a couple of WL Masterclasses, the bottles weren't presented in age order. But I went to a G&M tasting last year which went through the various ages of Glen Grant in strict reverse order of distillation date (which was not quite the same as age of whisky as some had been in the bottle for a long time).

Ideally, I'd like to have the star turn as the second dram as I find the first one useful for acclimatising my palate. Obviously, though, you'd want quite a light warm-up dram.

I will share notes for the Speymalt - it may be over-wooded but JM rates it.

[Muskrat Portage]

I just realised I have an "older" bottle, a blend from the 1970's just before I went to University! Here's the thread I posted the picture in:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8154&p=137101#p137101

It's a Litre bottle of "Dimple" 43% abv which has just a smidgen of liquid in the bottom. It was my earliest whisky recommendation to a friend, who decided he didn't like it and gave it to me after a single drink. The right hand bottle and box is a "Pinch " which was given to me after an Uncle passed away a number of years ago. It dates from the 1980s, I suspect.

Muskrat Portage

[Drrich1965]

Gee...I have nothing super old right now....

Here is the tie..

Linlithgow 1975 28yo (45%, Blackadder) X 2
Linlithgow 1975 24yo (49.7%, Signatory Vintage) 1

Here are my tasting notes and thoughts from the oldest bottle I have owned, my birth year....

Score 81 Strathisla 37yo 1965 (43%, Mackillops Choice) 2005 B-day malt. Same year as I. Tons of wood, lots of sherry. Not the most balanced malt, but a good year, 1965. I was thinking that perhaps each year I would try to get a bottle from my birth year, but I am having second thoughts. It would be very expensive, and increasingly so over time. Second, it is rare that such an old malt/bottle will hold up over time, making my B-day malts more special than tasty. Tasty is good! Best to pick out something that I am really going to love.

Thinking of picking up another 65 for this year, perhaps a single grain I saw at Binnys..