Scotch Whisky Review #444: The Nectar of The Daily Drams Secret Grain 47 Year (1973)

Distillery: Unknown.

Region: Unknown.

Age: 47 Year. Distilled in 1973 and bottled in 2020.

ABV: 48.2%.

Color: 1.3, Russet/Muscat.

This dram is the eighteenth of 2022’s Christmas Countdown! Whiskies from previous years can be found here.

Every year, I look at the advent calendar offerings that pop up across the pond and think that it would be super cool to do something like that (it is actually the inspiration for my review spree in December). Turns out, I wasn’t the only one who wanted to do one so between /u/federalagents, /u/DangerousDoorknob, and I we put our own together! This is the seventeenth dram of the calendar. It was reviewed partially blind as in I know the whiskies in the calendar but not the order.

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Nose: Orange peel and orange oils are the main note here. There are notes of something akin to a very dense fruit cake or carrot cake. Some oak comes through along with some old, stale vanilla.

Palate: Lots of orange just like the nose suggests mostly in the form of the rind and oils with a bit of bitterness. There are a lot of baking spices to go along with it, the combination of the two sets of notes gives me the impression of a spiced orange cake. Some of the fruit cake notes from the nose also come in again.

Finish: Medium in length. Baking spices and a bit of cherry liqueur wrap things up.

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Guess: Scotland. Grain. Old AF. 45-50% ABV. Old, Super Old. Secret Grain 1973 The Nectar 47 Year.

Reveal: The Nectar of The Daily Drams Secret Grain 47 Year (1973).

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Conclusion: Talk about an ancient whisky! This 47 year old grain is the second oldest (after a 51 year old grain) I’ve had the pleasure to try. This one reminded me a bit more of a rye whisky with all of the baking spices than anything else. The orange notes throughout kept this from being too one dimensional and gave a lovely bitter and fruity twist. The spiced orange cake mental image was a lovely one and timely for this part of the season. Oddly enough, I’m usually the one who finds whiskies overoaked easily and I was one of the few in the tasting group that didn’t. Funny how that works!

Final Score: 82.

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Scotch Whisky Review #444, Grain Whisky #7, Whisky Network Review #599

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky and I will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection if feasible.
• 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product and I’m likely wanting a bottle or two.
• 80-84: Quite good, pleasant overall though there is usually a few things that could be improved still.
• 75-79: Good, enjoyable to drink but ultimately flawed.
• 70-74: Alright, solid and 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.