Review by: zSolaris

Christmas Countdown 2020 #5: Signatory Vintage Cambus 21 Year Refill Butt (1991)

Image Credit: /u/xreekinghavocx from this post

Distillery: Cambus

Bottler: Signatory Vintage

Region: Lowland

Age: 21 Year.

ABV: 50.5% Cask Strength

Cask Type: Refill Butt

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/xreekinghavocx

Color: 1.3, Russet/Muscat. Natural Color.

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Nose: (according to the wife) On the sweeter side of things. There’s brown sugar, a bit of molasses, and caramel.

Palate: Much like the nose teases, it is sweet. It’s a cereal sweetness and not just pure sugar. There’s a bit of brown sugar cookie that have been lightly dusted with cinnamon.

Finish: Short. Bit more of those cookies but not a whole lot going on.

Conclusion: As I nudge closer and closer to turning 30 next year, I’ve been trying to intensify my hunt for birth-year whiskies. I’ve seen more than a few grain whiskies around that are from 1991 and figured I should take one for a spin. This bottling from Signatory Vintage is on the simplistic side of things, but it is tasty and very easy to drink even at full strength. The nose teases it’ll be sweet and it manages to deliver a lovely cereal sweetness that doesn’t overload the senses. The brown sugar cookie with a bit of cinnamon is quite nice though I wish there was more going on here. Still, it’s not a bad whisky by any means and piques my interest in what other older grain whiskies might be like.

Final Score: 76.

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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.