1970s Light Very Old 8 Year Old Scotch

Nose: Clear, very pale straw with tons of kippery peat mixed with a fresh grainy sweetness, like multigrain bread toasted over an industrial fire and slathered in clover honey. Notes of briny salt overlay a fundamental freshness, aromas of ripe pear and soft dried apricot. There’s also a bit of hay-like character, but very lively and fresh-cut.

Palate: Unflinchingly smoky in a heavy, extinguished campfire kind of way. Lots of that kippered fish character sticks around from the nose, salty and iodine, without straying over into meatiness. Nice notes of pear candy and apple peel as well as a sweet, almost sticky malt character runs under the whole thing, tapering off to a long, dry, pleasantly ashy finish that hangs for a long time.

Finish: Layers of apple crumble, toasted almond, and ash. Another kick of cooking spices right at the end