North Port-Brechin 36-year-old (D.1981, B.2018) Signatory Vintage 30th Anniversary / 57.2% / 0.7l

In 2018, Signatory Vintage celebrated its 30th anniversary. Founded in 1988 by Andrew and Brian Symington, it quickly became a major player in the single malt market.

Signatory has released several extremely rare whiskies to mark its anniversary, including the North Port shown here. The North Port Distillery, based in Brechin, Eastern Highlands, began in 1820 as the Townhead Distillery (it took the name North Port in 1839). It last distilled in 1983, and today there is a supermarket on its site. The North Port shown here, distilled on 3rd November 1981, spent 36 years in a 1708 sherry butt, which on 31st July 2018 amounted to 537 bottles of cask strength (57.2% abv) of whisky. The set includes two Glencairn glasses bearing the Signatory Vintage logo.

Nose: fruity and herbal, barley malt, oranges, grapefruits, honey, herbal tea, potpourri, lavender, cocoa, mint, sage, a hint of roasted coffee beans and oak.

Palate: slightly oily, dry flowers, roasted nuts and almonds, dried plums and apricots, raisins, buckwheat honey, coffee liqueur, dark chocolate, herbal mixture, notes of tobacco, leather and oak.

Finish: quite long, with notes of honey, raisins, almonds, dark chocolate, allspice, tobacco and oak.