Glen Albyn – 42 Year Old 1980 Gordon & MacPhail Dram Takers Collection Single Refill Sherry Puncheon #2327 (70cl, 51.1%)

This is a 42 year old single malt Scotch whisky distilled in 1980 at Glen Albyn, an Inverness distillery that closed in 1983. Gordon & MacPhail bottled it for the Dram Takers Collection, a series of releases over 40 years old. It comes from a single refill sherry puncheon, one of 77 bottles, and is bottled at cask strength at 51.1% in a 70cl bottle. The long maturation is described as giving a deep mahogany colour, with old leather and polished wood and no overbearing tannin. On the nose there is blueberry, red apple and sultanas, then toasted hazelnuts, citrus zest and toffee. The palate brings strawberry liquorice, stewed plums and white pepper, ending with mature oak, and the finish is full, with tobacco and peanut brittle.