Coleburn 1965, 17-year-old, Connoisseurs Choice / 40%/ 0.75l

Coleburn is one of over 30 distilleries that fell victim to overproduction of whisky and, as a result, the severe crisis in the industry in the 1980s.

The distillery began operating in 1897 and 20 years later it was taken over by Johnnie Walker & Sons, with whom it became part of DCL in 1925. Coleburn distilled in a single pair of stills, producing around 1 million litres of alcohol per year. The distillery suspended operations in 1985 and never resumed. Almost all of its production went into Johnnie Walker blends, the only official edition was released in 2000 in the Rare Malts series. The Coleburn 1965 presented here, after 17 years of maturation, was included in Gordon & MacPhail's flagship series, Connoisseurs Choice, in the early 1980s.

Nose : dusty antique bookstore, old leather couch, dried orange peel, apples, vanilla, dried mushrooms, tobacco and polished oak.

Taste : delicate notes of sherry, barley malt, dried plums and pears, orange jam, black pepper, dried herbs and delicate mineral and oak notes.

Finish : medium long, with notes of dried fruit, black pepper, licorice, nutmeg and oak.