Those of
you who have read this site for a while will remember back to my 30th birthday.
In the years leading up to it, I had assembled a collection of bottles from the
year of my birth, 1979. Doing so
wasn't too difficult (this was in the days when one could purchase a bottle of
1979 Port Ellen from an indie
bottler for under £100,
and an OB for little over that) and the army of drams which were opened on my
celebration day would grace any high end hotel nowadays.
I'm not
one of those people who perpetually complain about the price of whisky rising.
I understand that it is a finite product and if demand rises, so will prices.
Doing so, is like complaining about the current house prices in certain parts
of London. 20 years ago, I could have probably afforded to live in, say, Notting Hill. But not these days. Do I
complain? No, I just go and live somewhere that is nice and affordable. Move
on. Literally.
The price
of a bottle of whisky is not determined just by the demand for mature stocks,
however. As discussed in a post from last week about the possible shortage of
casks coming over from America
(legislation tbc), cash-flow plays a major part, too. If more money is needed
now to lay stocks down for the future, then you'll more than likely see an
uplift in the cost of your beloved dram.
All of
this is going to have an effect on whiskies from the year of my birth, 1979 especially
when people like me actually go and open the damn things. More so, any Scotch
from the 1970’s seems to have seen a fairly hefty
price hike in the last few years and my thoughts go out to you if you were born
in the 60's, 50's or, god forbid, the 1940s
and you’re looking to purchase birthday bottles! My advice would be:
stockpile now if you want something to drink on your special birthday in the
future.
However,
there is hope! The indie bottler often rides to the rescue of those indeed of a
rare, old dram and we feature a few of them on this site every so often. But
one bottler who we hardly ever talk about (in fact, I don't think we ever do)
is Cadenhead’s.
The last
time we had a wee drop from these chaps was down in Campbeltown after a visit
to Springbank distillery. They have
a shop locally and sell some quite astonishing stuff at exceptionally low
prices. I used to frequent their shop in London's Covent Garden (before rent
price hikes forced them out to Marylebone- see what they did there? When faced
with a price hike, they just moved on...) but have sadly not taken the time out
to check out their new London store.
Silly me.
Why?
Because of bottling such as this:
 |
| Cadenhead's 43 yo Glenlivet |
I discovered this wee treat behind the bar at
the Royal Oak pub in Dufftown a few weeks ago. Not many
people have whisky dating back this far. And not many sell it for well under £200 a bottle. Yeah,
you heard: under £200
a bottle.
So, what
do Candenhead’s have in store for future
release? Well, one of them is their most expensive bottling ever, a 41 year old
Glenfiddich from 1973 which comes,
as Brand Ambassdor Mark Watt excitedly tells me "in a cardboard box!"
and is a single cask which yielded just 96 bottles, retailing for £450.
Glenfiddich - 1973 –
41 Years Old – Wm.
Cadenhead – 96
bottles only - 43.1% abv
Nose: A complex nose of sandalwood,
petrichor, old diesel locomotives, school desks and furniture polish. This is
like sticking your nose into a 1960's ercol cabinet. Some orange peel, fig,
angostura bitters... this would be brilliant in an Old Fashioned.
Palate: Rich and oily, it starts off
with apricot jam, dark chocolate-dipped candied orange, some more sandalwood,
cinnamon sticks and ginger. Rich and mouthfilling, this could have been dry and
woody, but it is as refreshing as a dewy walk through an autumnal wood at dawn.
Finish: Apricots, old armagnac and a
hint of menthol.
Overall: Rich with great woody notes, a
full body and lots of fresh fruits. Fantastic.
Alongside
this release is a single cask 37 year old Dalmore, retailing at an astonishing £170.
Dalmore - 1976 –
37 Years Old – Wm. Cadenhead
- 150 – 46.4% abv
Nose: Brandy butter, rich clotted
cream, some marzipan and toasted almonds give way to the oak, which takes a while
to lift from the glass, but once it does it provides a good spicy topline,
finally resting on fresh pine needles.
Palate: Vanilla again, rounded with
cinnamon and green apple, which quickly develops into toffee apple and light,
runny honey. The palate also has an element of watermelon and pear drop sweets.
Some custard notes, too.
Finish: Rhubarb and custard sweets.
Overall: A great dram at a stella
price, this is all about the vanilla, cinnamon spice and rhubarb & custard.
So, if
you look hard enough, you'll find the odd bottle out there which is extremely
good value for a well aged product. Just keep your eyes peeled.