Nose: Loads and loads and loads of sherry. There are some very rich oak spices with a bit of marmalade, plum preserve, maple syrup, and a small hint of eucalyptus towards the end. I didn’t want to stop smelling this at all.

Palate: A nice rich, oily, almost syrupy mouthfeel. There is so much sherry here as you’d expect after 40 years in a sherry cask. There are some notes of a very sticky orange preserve that has the rinds in it. Oak spices appear here as well and help balance out the lovely sherry so that it isn’t super sweet.

Finish: The finish never ends. It only ended when I took a sip of the next dram after this one. There’s lots of vanilla with some more of that orange marmalade along with some peaches. There is a nice leather note as well accompanied by cocoa powder and graham cracker dust.

Conclusion: While age statements aren’t everything, there is a certain level of expectation when you hear that something has spent 40 years in a sherry cask. This dram nearly meets all of them. It is an absolute sherry masterpiece. The moment you take a whiff of this whisky, it sets the stage for you. You’re going to the land flowing with sherry and more sherry. The nose is really inviting and heavenly. It has a wonderful mouth feel that again has lots of sherry. The finish is the best of any whisky I’ve had and I honestly didn’t want to move on from this dram to the next one because I didn’t want to lose that aftertaste. My one nitpick was that there wasn’t as much complexity in the palate as I’d hoped but there’s plenty of it elsewhere. Would I buy a bottle? It’s on the “if I win the lottery” list of things to buy.

Final Score: 96.

Scotch Whisky review #115, Speyside Whisky Review #43, Whisky Network Review #150

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.