1981 Vintage Whisky

A 1981 vintage grain whisky from Carsebridge, bottled by the grain fanatics at Clan Denny in 2011 after 30 years in the cask. The distillery closed down only a couple of years after this was distilled and has since been dismantled.

A 1981 vintage whisky from Glentauchers, the little seen or heard Speyside distillery that provides the backbone of Teacher's and Ballantine's. This one is 30 years old, bottled in 2011 from a refill butt.

A new Connoisseurs Choice bottling of Coleburn 1981. This little-seen Speysider was closed by Diageo in 1985.

A lovely colour (and a massive ABV) on this full-strength 1981 vintage Caol Ila, bottled without colouring or chill-filtration in 2011 at around 30 years old by renowned independent bottlers Robert Scott of Rutherglen for their Scott's Selection series.

A 1981 Tomintoul, released after a fairly hefty 29 years of maturation at cask strength by independent bottler Mackillop's as part of their Mackillop's Choice range.

A 1981 vintage Glen Spey from Berry Brothers & Rudd, the oldest family owned independent wine and spirits merchant in the world. This one has matured for about 30 years before being bottled at 46%.

For this Linkwood 1981, 12 yo malt that had been matured in traditional casks was transferred to rum casks for a further 14 years. Something of a departure for Diageo's Special Releases, releasing three malts from the same distillery in 50cl bottles.

For this Linkwood 1981, 12 yo malt that had been matured in traditional casks was transferred to sweet red wine casks for a further 14 years. Something of a departure for Diageo's Special Releases, releasing three malts from the same distillery in 50cl bottles.

For this Linkwood 1981, 12 yo malt that had been matured in traditional casks was transferred to port wine casks for a further 14 years. Something of a departure for Diageo's Special Releases, releasing three malts from the same distillery in 50cl bottles.

A bottling of 1981 vintage Benromach, produced by the previous owners before the distillery's 1983 mothballing, but bottled by new owners Gordon & Macphail. This is only going to get rarer, as there won't be any 21 year old whisky finishing its maturation until 2019, 21 years after the distillery reopened in 1998.