Ambassador 25 Year Blended Scotch Whisky (c. 1960s)
Whisky: Ambassador 25 Year Blended Scotch Whisky (c. 1960s)
Country/Region: Scotland/Blend
ABV: 43%
Cask: Oak
Age: 25 Years
Nose: Musty with cigarette smoke and shag carpet, paper, charcoal, wood, garage, mellow rubber, sliced apples.
Palate: Light-bodied, oily, chocolate, pastries, newspaper, tobacco smoke, musty, garage, wood, ginger biscuits, vanilla, and rice crackers.
Finish: Medium length with musty garage, a touch of sour herbal tinctures, and some earthy ginger; with time more chocolate and pastries.
Score: 7-8 (86)
Mental Image: Time to Time Warp
Narrative & Notes: Musty shag carpet and old mentholated cigarette smoke lingered in the air with drafting paper, charcoal pencils, and wood oil. Old yellowed newspapers stacked in a garage with motor oil stains arrived with old rubber, unfinished wood, and sliced apples. Light-bodied, but viscous and oily, the flavor profile kicked off with no-bake chocolate and peanut butter cookies before mustier notions of old newspapers and tobacco smoke-infused shag carpet arrived with a touch of spicy incense. The flavors turned to the car garage, wooden work benches, and oil stains while ginger biscuits, vanilla, and rice crackers lingered further in the background. The finish was medium length with musty garage, a touch of sour herbal tinctures, and some earthy ginger; with time more chocolate, vanilla, and pastries.
A beautiful vintage whisky— this 1960s blend had everything I love about older whiskies, including the dirty, musty, and grungy elements that are less common today. At 25 Years old when it was bottled in the 1960s, components of the blend were likely distilled in the 1930s and 40s. The blend was produced by the same group that operated Scapa and Glen Scotia distilleries, so it seems likely the blend contained a core of those malts. It may well have also contained Glencadam, Glenburgie, and Miltonduff which were part of the Hiram Walker stable at the time. Of course blends contain many components, so there is no telling exactly which ones are in here or in what amounts— but this did remind me a lot of the 1950s Glenburgie I reviewed a few years back.
I wish the finish lasted a bit longer, but otherwise this was a lovely whisky with an unexpected oily viscosity considering how light it was otherwise. The aroma was dirtier than the flavor profile, but they were not entirely mismatched as some of those grungier characteristics came on near the finish.
Overall, another fun old blend.
