In a tasting with some local whisky maniacs, one of them brought this bottle: Glendarroch 1967 41 year old and immediately it piqued my interest. It was clear it comes from a distillery who doesn’t want its name on independent bottlings and so I believe there’s a good chance it’s Genfarclas. It’s a 750ml bottle so its geared toward USA market, bottled in 2009 by Duncan Taylor’s prestigious Lonach range.

This range is tribute to the Lonach Gathering (an annual Clan Gathering held at Strathdon in the Highlands of Scotland). In celebration of the Gathering, the Lonach range of exceptional single malt whiskies represents a collection of some of the finest whiskies from Scotland’s leading malt whisky distilleries. The Lonach range provides a vatting of two casks from one particular distillery, each cask type provides its own particular character to the whisky. Occasionally over- and under-strength casks are vatted together. To commemorate each passing year, Duncan Taylor releases a limited number of bottles, specifically to celebrate the Gathering in August. These are exclusively available at the Lonach Gathering for Clansmen and visitors alike.

Glendarroch 1967 41 year old (41.4%)

Nose: Old, dusty, sweet apples galore with a dash of lemon, honey – very sweet nose but also very flat and not complex. Might be an inactive cask?

Palate: Oak wood, Apples and lots of pepper. Surprisingly not sweet despite the very sweet nose.

Finish: Short finish, oak wood spices, apple peels.

Thoughts: Is it a whisky or apples liquor? Seriously, it’s a disappointing and bad whisky. Sometimes age doesn’t matter – at least not by itself. There’s the cask factor as well and a good cask plays a major role in the whisky quality and ability to improve over time. In the case of this whisky, the cask provided something that approach nil. What a waste…