30 years old, distilled 25th September 1984, 53.3% abv, refill ex-bourbon hogshead, 210 bottles

The nose is quite light - furniture polish, mango, pineapple, toffee and brown sugar. The mouth-feel is thicker than I expected, with nice coating. The body has caramel, sandalwood, toffee, marzipan and black pepper towards the back of the palate. The finish is sweet - cinnamon and crème brûlée.

Water brings out tight, thin whorling that spreads nicely but doesn't linger for long. The nose now has less fruit, more of the brown sugar and toffee, and has gained cigar boxes. The body is now juicy in its mouth-feel - very good. There's sultanas and apricot, cinnamon and ginger - a luscious combination. The finish has cinnamon and cigar boxes.

A great sweet and light dram, that is difficult to believe is 30 years old - it's very youthful. Drink it at the start of an evening, and hope your friends are late...

4.5/5