North of Scotland 47 Years Old 1972 (Stillwater Whisky Co.)

Bottled by Stillwater Whisky Co, this 1972 vintage was held for 47 years. The grain comes from the lost grain distillery at Cambus, Clackmannanshire, the plant George Christie built inside the converted Forth Brewery and ran until the 1980 overproduction glut forced its closure, with an outturn of 387 bottles.

A deliberately broad cut off the patent stills kept flavour in the spirit, the choice that gave it the stamina to age nearly five decades. At 47 years in refill ex-Bourbon wood the whisky has reached the ethereal stage, waxy and deeply mature, the proof settling toward the floor as evaporation concentrates the remaining liquid in the cask.

Bottled at 41.1%, this is a soft and richly aged grain. Vanillin from the degrading lignin gives vanilla, caramelised hemicellulose adds toffee and a chocolate depth, and a coconut note comes from the oak lactones. Long oxidation brings old polished oak, dried fruit and a hint of tobacco leaf, the tannins gentle, the finish long and mellow from a distillery demolished in 1993. Bottled four decades after the distillery closed, it is a reminder that the best of Christie's grain only revealed itself with great age.