Whisky: Invergordon 34 Year (1987), Thompson Brothers

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland Grain

ABV: 54.3%

Cask: Refill Barrel

Age: 34 Years (Distilled 1987, Bottled 2022)

Nose: Sweet cream and wood oil, wood resin, modeling glue, woody mulch, buttercream cupcakes, walnut pastries, hints of acrylic paint.

Palate: Medium to full-bodied, sweet cream, vanilla, almond, buttercream, mellow peppercorn, wood resin, woody mulch, pencils, walnut oil.

Finish: Medium-long with sweet cream, vanilla, and oak.

Score: 6-7

Mental Image: Warhammer 40K Cupcake Party

Narrative & Notes: A birthday party in a hobby store; buttercream frosting and vanilla drifted among models under construction and battlefields ready for the roll of the dice. Sweet cream and Butterfinger bars arrived with wood oil, wood resin, woody mulch for the battlefield, modeling glue, acrylic paint, and hints of freshly unpacked PVC models. Medium to full-bodied, the palate mirrored much of the nose with oily sweet-cream, vanilla, almond, and buttercream cupcakes with hints of lemon zest. A mellow peppercorn popped on the mid-palate and lingered to the finish with wood resin, woody mulch, sharpened #2 pencils, and walnut oil. Sweet cream and vanilla lingered on the back end with a lovely whipped honey butter. The finish was medium-long with sweet cream, vanilla, and oak.

A delightfully mature grain, this Invergordon from Thompson Brothers had plenty of the cream and vanilla you want on this kind of whisky but with some added complexity in the form of woody oils, resins, and adhesives. Not everyone will find acrylic paint and modeling glue appetizing, but I thought they worked well with the broader profile of wood and cream. Walnut stood out as particularly intriguing, from stuffed pasties on the nose to more concentrated oil on the palate. I thought the whisky a tad over-oaked for my taste, especially on the finish, but I suspect fans of wood-forward whiskies will find a lot to love.

Overall, nice and enjoyable, with some interesting complexity. I doubt anyone will find the whisky a stunning revelation, but not every whisky can be that way. When you want an elevated age statement or something closer to a dessert whisky, you could do much worse than a mature single grain.

Image Credit: Whisky Auctioneer