27 Year Old Whisky

A Frisky Whisky bottling of Caol Ila, as chosen by whisky legend John Milroy. A marriage of two casks distilled in 1983 and matured for 27 years before bottling in 2010 to produce a spicy and nutty whisky with a peat smoke edge.

A bottling of 1983 vintage Balmenach from Douglas Laing as part of the Old Malt Cask range. This one was matured for 27 years in a refill hogshead before bottling in April 2011.

A whisky distilled at Linkwood in 1984, shortly before the old still house stopped regular production. This was bottled in 2011 by Liquid Sun after 27 years of maturaion in bourbon cask.

A key element in Whyte & Mackay, who owned the distillery for a number of years, Tomintoul is a much overlooked malt. This was a cracking bottling and is now being snapped up by fans, having been discontinued a year or two ago.

A Signatory bottling of the rarely-seen Imperial single malt from 1982. The distillery is currently mothballed, but was taken over by Chivas Bros in 2005. Chivas owners Pernod Ricard have been reviving distilleries of late, so there's hope yet for Imperial, which has had a troubled history, but has produced some very good, even great, malt whisky in the past.

The first Port Ellen in the Single Malts of Scotland series is from a refill butt. This is initially sweet on the palate, but turns more savoury and phenolic with toasty flavours and more medicinal notes. Very drinkable at 46%.

A 27 year old Port Ellen bottled in 2010 by Port Ellen specialists Old Bothwell. This was distilled in 1983, the year that the distillery closed its doors.

A refill hoghead of Port Ellen 1983, bottled by Douglas Laing for their Old Malt Cask collection. Not too phenolic with a lovely, subtle, heathery nose that becomes quite fruity with time. The palate is more forward, with flavours of Fishermen's Friends and tarry smoked wood.

The Rare Malts are a now-discontinued series of cask-strength releases designed by Diageo to showcase some of the hidden treasures in their portfolio. This little beauty was awarded 5 stars and 90/100 by Serge, www.whiskyfun.com.