Review by: TOModera
You say to someone, “How’s that 47 year old Whisky?” and you’re kinda in a bind.
I mean, Age = Quality, right? Something older than me was cradled, protected, untouched, and has cost so much to make. And more wood equals better, right?
Probably not. I mean, we’ve already seen that climate affects the taste. Young whiskies can be good. There’s expectations of terroir that need to be followed. There’s the grain/mixture of grains they used. What cask was it in? Was it looked over by a crazy person? What’s the average flight speed of an African Sparrow?
All of this taken into consideration. And then I go shopping on Master of Malt, a friend says they’re going to bring some stuff over for me, and boom, I’m ordering like a fool who ignores everything and sees “47”.
Girvan 47 year old 1965 (cask 9487) The Clan Denny (Douglas Laing) is an independently bottled, single cask, single grain, scotch.
Let’s break this down by parts, shall we? Oh, and if I have anything wrong, call me out on it.
Girvan is a distillery owned by William Grant & Sons. It was built in 1963, used to be the site of Ladyburn, which is not an ailment of women who don’t wash enough, and they are still producing whisky for blends as well as their own products.
1965 puts this as one of their first 2 years of producing booz-a-mahol.
Cask 9487 just denotes which cask they used. And they only used one. Which is impressive that it lasted this long.
The Clan Denny (Douglas Laing) is the Independent bottler. They buy the booze from Girvan, and then decide when and how to age/bottle it. Clan Denny is part of Douglas Laing, that has different names for different grouping of malts they bring out under a project name.
Single Grain? That’s grain whisky which is typically distilled in a continuous column still rather than malt whisky, which is 100% malted barley mash and distilled in a pot still. Grain whisky has higher Abv. but is less flavourful.
Enough knowledge: Let’s see if this granny can still shimmy.
Distillery: Girvan Distillery.
Bottler: Douglas Laing.
Region: Lowland.
ABV: 48.2%. Cask strength.
Age: 47 years. Distilled in 1965. Bottled in 2012.
Cask type: Unknown.
Price: N/A in Ontario
Color: Polished Brass
Nose: Faint cinnamon, caramel, grapes, grapefruit, white cakes, wood polish, ginger, butterscotch
Really light at first. As it opens up, there’s more fruit and sweetness than a typical Lowland.
Then it gets this wood polish, strong flavour to it. Noice.
Taste: Floral, pepper, nutmeg, creme brûlée, creme caramel, faint pecan, basil
Complex flavours throughout, with a lot of really tasty balance. Not mind blowing, but this has developed some interesting tastes, especially for a single grain whisky. It’s become closer to a single malt actually, or even a Bourbon.
Finish: Coconut milk, almond, faint white chocolate, dry apple, marzipan, oak, ginger, lemon zest
Now we have a zany, wacko time. Tons of different, interesting, sweet, buttery, and creamy tastes at the end. Like being a woman in a porn.
On a side note, can we stop with the money shots? Not sexy people.
Moving on…
Conclusion: “So, how is the 47 year old whisky?” Well… it’s interesting The taste is starting to get there. The Nose and Finish are well put together, with the finish shining in the unique category. However… well, shouldn’t it be mind blowing?
It’s not going to change your life. But it is a good dram, it’s a good way to try something old and try something different.
Final Score: 86.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 