Carsebridge 48 Years Old 1973 Cask #111864 (Elixir)

A Carsebridge single grain of a 48 year old chosen by Sukhinder Singh's Elixir Distillers, distilled in 1973, from cask 111864, bottled at 56.3%, one of 462 bottles. Carsebridge is a closed grain distillery, its old single grain now a finite, dwindling stock. Most of its make went into blends; single grain Carsebridge appears only from independent bottlers.

It was made in Coffey stills before the distillery closed, for a delicate spirit that leans on the cask with age. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, coconut and vanilla drawn slowly into the grain. Ethereal and old, oak lactones give a profound coconut and vanillin a waxy vanilla, over tropical fruit and mellow oak. The light Lowland grain gains its deep coconut and toffee entirely from the cask. Grain whisky like this rewards very long maturation, the wood giving most of the character. With Carsebridge gone, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock.

At a hearty 56.3% it carries real weight. Coconut from the oak lactones and vanilla from vanillin run deep, over butterscotch and a soft oil. The texture is oily and buttery, the sweetness coating. The finish is deep, oily and creamy. This is a rare single grain from Carsebridge, silent since 1983.