Time to off 2026 with the oldest whisky I have ever reviewed: a 25 Year Chivas Regal from the early 1920s. The Thompson Brothers and Dornoch Castle Hotel made pours of this bottle available on their website as part of their “Drams from Afar” and recruited an archivist at Chivas to help date the bottle. They believed, based on the bottle, cork, and capsule that the whisky was bottled in the early 1920s. That would make the component whiskies inside a product of the 1890s; wow! 

The 25 Year version of the blend was only introduced in 1909, a product that may have benefited from the whisky loch of the early 20th century and the availability of cheap aged product.  It is not every day, or every year, one gets to drink 19th century whiskies— so cheers to the start of 2026!

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Whisky: Chivas Regal 25 Year (c. 1920s)

Country/Region: Scotland/Blend

ABV: 43% (42.1% at time of pouring)

Cask: Oak

Age: 25 Years

Notes: Musty papers and autumn leaves carried wispy smoke, charcoal, and hints of an algae strewn pond. Boxes of archival documents, mothballs, vending machine coffee, twine, and glue carried me back to long days in French colonial archives. Vanilla and old leather lingered in the air with book bindings, smoke, and hints of saline while more old oak paneling, lacquered wood, and old-fashioned butterscotch waited in the background. Light-bodied on the palate, the flavors were lively with loads of musty archival boxes and oily citrus rinds. Metallic and mineralic at times with a bit of pepper and saline; like an earthy mineral water, which carried on with old papers and book bindings. Autumn leaves and coal soot waited for the wispy smoke of chimneys and dry earth— it was all very autumn at times. The finish was medium to long with gentle old pepper, autumn leaves, and cloves.

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Score: 9 (90)

Mental Image: Peering in the Past

Conclusion: Wow. After nearly a hundred years in the bottle, and a year in a smaller sample bottle, this whisky was remarkably lively. Even more startling was how little the “old bottle effect” played a role— it was there, especially at first, but dissipated with enough patience and the second time I poured this, it was not noticeable at all.

The flavor profile was very autumn-like with plenty of dry vegetation, earth, and wispy smoke throughout. Earthy peat played a big role on the palate, and the net effect reminded me strongly of doing archival research in France during the autumn. I often wondered the last time someone had touched the same papers I did, many of which came from the same era as this whisky. 

Overall, this was an impossible one to score as the romance of the bottle itself played such a big role in the experience, but even my wife, who tried it totally blind, gave it a 4/5 “really good.”  So there you have it, a wonderful experience and great kick off to the year.