The Maltman Blended Malt 27 Years Old 1992 (Meadowside Blending)

This 27 year old blended malt is a Meadowside Blending Maltman release, a 1992 vintage matured in Oloroso sherry and bottled at 42% in an outturn of 702. As a blended malt it brings together malt whiskies from more than one distillery, here from a single year, a slightly younger and lighter sibling to the firm's 30 year old 1992 from the same range.

Maturation in Oloroso sherry gives the whisky its character. Aged in open contact with air rather than under flor, Oloroso builds a nutty, dried fruit depth, and at twenty seven years the malt has reached oxidative maturity, the sherry wood rounding the spirit while leaving a fresher, brighter edge than the older bottling shows.

At 42% it is soft and approachable. The melanoidins of the Oloroso bring fig and raisin, balanced by a leafy, fresh fruit lift and a nutty oak base, the lower strength keeping it easy and open. The finish is medium and gently sweet, a lighter and more drinkable take on the 1992 blended malt than its older, deeper companion. It is an easy, gently sweet pour, the kind of older blended malt that drinks well without ceremony, fuss or water.