The Battle of the Thirty Year Old Whiskies

We wanted to leave you with a bang, since now we go on a three week holiday. We will return early in September, give our liver some rest, and make plans for the new sprint towards the end of the year with more remarkable whisky on the table, and tasting notes for you to enjoy. It has been a crazy trip so far, ever since we released our very first blog on Leap Day 29 February 2024. We hope you like reading here as much as we like creating these blogs. It is a thrill!

Now, this number “3” for our three week holiday inspired to pull out some magnificent old samples from the drawer. That same drawer that prompted me to start this blog. I gathered a selection of whiskies that all matured for at least 30 years. We present an old Laphroaig and three slightly lesser known names: Glen Ord, Linkwood and Royal Brackla. Let us know what you think!

A whisky matured for 30 years can be considered a holy grail for whisky enthusiasts. The perfect age according to the legendary bottler Silvano Samaroli is between 18 and 21 years old. Probably many producers agree, since these two ages are most times part of a core range. Who does not know the legendary Macallan 18 or Springbank 21? Going beyond the age, it becomes a bit more tricky. A 25 year matured whisky can offer delicious fruits you could never find in younger whisky, especially when the source material was peated. But 30 years? A whole generation in the age of this world has passed. How do you prevent your whisky to taste like a tired drink, overcome by wood notes since whisky has to mature in oak? We are going to check these sentiments today!
We tasted the samples, starting with the lowest abv and working upwards.

Happy holiday!

Laphroaig 30 years old, bottled at 48,2 % abv

Makeup: The Ian Hunter Story – Book 2. Matured in Spanish Oloroso Sherry, produced in a batch of 4800 bottles. An impressive outturn at this respectable age! Ian Hunter played a major part in establishing Laphroaig into the beloved powerhouse Islay single malt it is today. The series consisted of 5 entries.

General impressions: The peat character works well with this rather dark and bitter sherry wood, starting with a good dose of old cigar box, emptied a while ago, but the contents still noticeable. With a little patience, and pouring this Laphroaig in a rinsed but still wet glass, you can find some tropical fruitiness underneath the obvious aroma’s. A very impressive and talkative nose, for sure. The balance seems perfectly fine. The taste however comes off a bit thin and fragile.  It is more of the same, with wood notes, bitter chocolate and cigar leaves, but on the finish there is unmistakably a soft soapy note. With water, the nose becomes fruitier, but also enlarges the soapy character on this Laphroaig.

Conclusion: The 30 year maturation took out a lot of the Laphroaig fire, but failed to replace it with something exceptional in return. That is a mishap on an overall rather fine Islay whisky. Soap sensitive whisky drinkers should try before they buy.

Score: 87 points

Linkwood 30 years old, 1984 – 2014, bottled at 52,1 % abv by Malts of Scotland

Makeup: This Linkwood from the dark ages of whisky production (being the mid-1980s) was matured in a single bourbon cask with the MoS number 14045. Outturn was 227 bottles.

General impressions: Mellowed in character, not readily releasing what it has in store. This is a Linkwood we are going to wrestle with a little. We pick up some vanilla and a dose of sawdust. New wooden floor in an apartment. A little glue. All not bothersome, but not blowing me away just yet. After some breathing, nice candied aroma’s appear. Now, the taste makes up for a lot, being deliciously sweet, but with a very weird hoppy finish. Makes me think of a Berliner Weisse with red syrup. A nice summer dram, for sure, and since we are tasting this Linkwood in late July, I am perfectly happy. 

With water it remains very pure, crystalline to put it clearly, and you cannot be anything else than impressed by the robust Linkwood spirit, allowed to shine fully in what I suspect was a tired cask. The spirit itself is mature, but certainly not tired. With time and water, lots of floral and grassy notes emerge.

Conclusion: This Linkwood makes me think the spirit shares some DNA with Rosebank, down south in the lowlands. The wood plays second fiddle to the whisky itself, and that makes for a nice experience in tasting a three decades long unbothered single malt.

Score: 88 points.

Royal Brackla 30 years old, 1984 – 2015, bottled at 54,1 % abv by Cadenhead’s

Makeup: Same vintage as the Linkwood, this Brackla matured in a bourbon cask, resulting in 192 bottles being produced in 2015.

General impressions: Hints of glue and yellow fruit. Yeah, melon with salty ham around it. With water more dominant lemon notes. Very likeable. The taste brings a good dose of bitterness from overtly applied wood maturation. A spicy character, some alcohol heat, which translates into the aftertaste, which also feels spicy. Lavender on the finish. After a while, the soft sides float to the top, and I notice a bit more melon again. Water works wonders, especially for the smells. Some mints develops but turns soapy after adding that water (so in general I advise not to).

Conclusion: Good stuff, but I cannot escape the feeling this whisky matured for a few years too long.

Score: 88 points

Glen Ord 30 years old, bottled at 58,7 % abv

Makeup: A special release by Diageo in the year 2005, making this a 1970s produced whisky. The release consisted of 6000 bottles. One of the early follow-up bottlings to the then just terminated legendary Rare Malts Selection. Matured in a mix of European and American oak casks.

General impressions: Glen Ord is such a versatile whisky, that it is a shame there is not a lot of it available for the European market. Now parked under the Singleton label of single malts, Glen Ord is solely destined for Asian markets, as is Glendullan for America and Dufftown for Europe. There is the occasional special release, but I for one miss the former 12 year old in the square bottle. This 30 year old came in the same charming livery. The nose on this Glen Ord is deliciously fresh and vibrant with malt (warm bread), banana, lemon, wood smoke and some delicate candy. One could easily mistake this glorious malt for that of the quite nearby Clynelish, because there is an abundance of honey and beeswax to be found. 

Time is of the essence, let this Glen Ord open up, like the yellow flowers it smells of. I am reminded of sunflower oil. We finish on some buttery influences. This is a single malt for people who like spirit driven whisky.

We would almost forget to take a sip with such a lovely nosing session going on. And yes, this powerhouse continues to deliver, very fierce and strong I might add. Lots of honeycomb and the wood influence brings a nice bitter note, but stays in the background for the remainder of the sensation. The finish gives more of the alcohol kick, and leaves us with a lot of lemons. I am not the biggest fan of ginger, but the taste just brings forward this images of cut ginger pieces lying next to the coffee machine at work.

The quite high abv at this age makes me believe the adding of a little water won’t hurt at all. On the nose, this brings out slightly more woody notes, but on the taste the waxiness is enlarged, which makes for a very honeyed exit on the finish. The balance on this Glen Ord 30 years old is unparalleled. Hats of to whoever create this masterpiece.

Conclusion: With distinct echoes to the Rare Malts Selection, this Glen Ord provided solace for anybody who mourned the cancellation of that beloved series. The whisky, with its high abv, is clearly from these high powered stocks that were filled to cask on high alcohol volumes and then left alone for decades. A fitting end to our battle of the 30 year olds, and a clear winner at that. These days, we also mourn the demise of the yearly Diageo Special Releases, of which the current instalments can’t stand in the shadow of giants like this Glen Ord. Tequila finished Lagavulin anyone? Oh, how times have changed. See you in three weeks.

Score: 93 points

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