The Singleton of Glen Ord, 38 Year Old, 1981

The Singleton 38-year-old is a rare and irresistibly rich single malt Scotch whisky drawn from just eight casks from The Singleton of Glen Ord distillery, a marriage of Bourbon, Pedro Ximenez, Oloroso and American Oak. At 38 years old, this whisky is approaching four decades in the making and only 1,689 bottles have been released of this extra-long double matured whisky. At natural strength, a thick, creamy texture and a vibrant, sweet start in which rich opening notes of fudge lead smoothly into a lightly spicy, intense, and fruity taste suggesting cinnamon-spiced baked apple, drying gently into an autumnal peppery warmth that envelopes the palate. Appreciably deeper in taste than its younger siblings, it shows the classic Singleton smoothness, being richly flavoured, well balanced, and easy to drink straight. The palate opens to reveal hints of orange citrus while with a dash of water more sweet flavours of vanilla ice cream and caramel fudge are perfectly balanced by just a trace of salt, still with a light touch of that Szechuan pepper warmth.