A little while ago (2015 to be exact) David Stirk celebrated the 10th anniversary of his Creative Whisky Company. He bottled an array of whiskies, ranging from 5 to 35 years old. This Invergordon 1984 30 Years Old was part of that series.
Invergordon is a big grain distillery in the Northern Highlands, producing about 36 million liters of pure alcohol per annum. Most of it finds its way into Whyte & Mackay-owned blends. A tiny bit will be bottled as a single cask by independent bottlers. Although it isn’t specified on the label, this whisky clearly has spend some time in a sherry cask. Although I think probably not the full 30 years, a finish is more likely.
Invergordon 1984 30 Years Old (57,1%, Creative Whisky Company, 383 bts.)
Nose: I waited well over an hour after I poured it into my glass. A layer of menthol and aniseed with some obvious sherry cask influence. Milk chocolates and bitter oranges. Rum soaked raisins. And some sulphur too.
Taste: Orange liqueur again, and again a touch of sulphur, goddammit. It doesn’t ruin the whisky per se, but I don’t like it. Also some cherries and chocolate milk, and quite spicy with black pepper and cinnamon.
Finish: Medium to long, with oranges and chocolate.
Rating: 81
At the risk of sounding like Jim Murray: what’s up with that damn sulphur?! It’s not like it is undrinkable, far from it, but is an undesirable element for me.
