Coleburn was a casualty of the 1980s Whisky Loch; it shuttered in 1985 after 92 years of operation. The warehouses are still used for whisky maturation by independent bottler Murray McDavid and earlier this year word came out that plans are in the works for it to reopen. Whisky from the distillery is uncommon, there are just over 100 releases listed on Whiskybase as of July 2025, and it is unlikely there are more than a handful of casks still out there in the wild.

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Whisky: Coleburn 17 Year (1978), Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 59.9%

Cask: Oak

Age: 18 Years (Distilled March 1978, Bottled December 1995)

Notes: The aroma was a touch raw and spirited, the malt untamed by time in the cask, or decades in the bottle. Melon rind and fish oil appeared with catnip and menthol in the background— was this a dram for me or the cats? Woody mulch and clay pots put in me in mind of a garden center with hints of hot rubbery hoses, potting soil, wood chips, and aromatic shrubbery. Medium-bodied and spirited, a peppery prickle tickled the palate as hazelnuts and garden herbs arrived with hot cement and a touch of rubber garden hose water. Always spirited and a touch raw, a peppery minerality lingered with wood laminate, pecan shells, catnip, aromatic resins, and fish oil.  The finish was long and slightly drying with melon rind, woody mulch, and garden herbs.

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Score: 7 (84)

Mental Image: Garden Center Revelry

Conclusion: I found this a bit idiosyncratic and, as it was only my second ever encounter with Coleburn, I have no idea how emblematic of the distillery it was— though comments from vastly more experienced fellows on Whiskybase locate it as a fairly classic example of the distillery and era. It was certainly in keeping with the character of Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection bottles from the period— spirited and a bit raw, not unpleasantly so, but in a manner unusual in the 2020s. It is a far cry from all of the big wood maturations and finishes of so many recent releases (or the extreme age of the few whiskies still being bottled from the 70s and 80s).

Overall, a wonderful whisky with characteristics that are exceedingly uncommon today. This was not the sort of flavor profile I would pour very often, but it scratched a particular itch— a good whisky to think through..