North of Scotland 42 Years Old 1971 (Gordon & Company)

This 42 year old North of Scotland was bottled by Gordon and Company for their Pearls of Scotland range, a 1971 vintage from the silent Cambus grain works near Alloa. George Christie built the plant inside the converted Forth Brewery and ran it until 1980, and this release is one of 290 bottles drawn from refill ex-Bourbon casks.

Because Christie drew an unusually broad cut off the patent stills, the grain kept the flavour and stamina to spend more than four decades in cask. At this age the whisky is well into oxidative maturity, the spirit and oak fully knit together, with baked orchard fruit, a waxy texture and the structure that long maturation lays down beneath the light grain sweetness.

Bottled at 44%, the strength has eased gently across the years. Broken down lignin yields vanillin and a vanilla core, the oak lactones bring coconut and cream, and caramelised hemicellulose adds toffee and fudge. Slow oxidation adds beeswax and old polished oak, the tannins firm but never bitter, closing on a soft and elegant note typical of grain at this great age. Gordon and Company's Pearls of Scotland range has long specialised in old and closed distillery casks, and this is a fine example of the depth they look for.