North British – 1988 33 Years Xtra Old Particular (70cl, 48.6%)

This is a 33-year-old single grain whisky from North British, distilled in July 1988 and bottled in December 2021 by Douglas Laing for its Xtra Old Particular series. It comes from a single PX sherry butt, which gave 674 bottles at a cask strength of 48.6%, in a 70cl bottle. The series is bottled without colouring and without chill-filtering. The nose is sweetly spiced with redcurrants, polished wood and blackberry coulis. The palate is syrupy and rich with honey, brown sugar and burnt brioche. The finish is very long, with toffee apples, pear drops and ripe Scottish strawberries.