North of Scotland 41 Years Old 1970 Cask #5 (Finest Whisky)

Released by the German independent Finest Whisky within its Old Master Painter series, this is a 41 year old North of Scotland distilled in 1970. The grain comes from Christie's lost grain distillery at Cambus, where George Christie pursued a more flavoursome style of grain whisky before overproduction forced the plant's closure in 1980, drawn from cask number 5 to an outturn of 234 bottles.

The spirit was distilled on patent stills with a wide cut that left in the congeners needed for long ageing. Four decades in a single refill ex-Bourbon cask brings the whisky into mature oxidation, where fresh fruit esters and citrus from the lighter grain spirit meet the dried fruit and honeyed depth that only long years in active oak can build.

Bottled at 47.1% cask strength, it carries good weight for its age. Vanilla comes from vanillin as the lignin breaks down, toffee from the caramelised hemicellulose in the toasted staves, and a creamy coconut note from the oak lactones. The source flavour profile points to honey, citrus and fresh and dried fruit, a bright yet deep grain whisky with a clean, leafy lift on the finish. Finest Whisky drew it from a single cask at full natural power.