1978 William Grant & Sons Rare Cask Reserves 37YO, 55.4%

This has to be my find of the year so far. Upon tasting, the question wasn’t whether to buy, but how many bottles I could secure. Virtually every detail of this single cask bottling is disclosed, except for what many consider the most important: the distillery name. However when you consider every other indication as to the origin of the liquid inside this mysterious release, it’s no wonder this is one of the most remarkable malts I have ever tasted. Bottled in 2015, this is the first ever bottling in the William Grant & Sons Rare Cask Reserves series. It’s a collaboration between William Grant & Sons - owners of Glenfiddich and The Balvenie and one the most prominent families in the Scotch whisky industry - and Giuseppe Begnoni, a prominent Italian collector. Respected whisky reviewer Serge Valentin describes it as “dazzling” and “one of the most fantastic sherry monsters that came out since two or three years”. Distilled in 1978 and aged in a first fill sherry cask for 37 years, this combination can so easily result in an unbalanced whisky, overwhelmed by oak. The fact that it displays such incredible balance, whilst incorporating intense flavours of Cuban cigar, Christmas cake and coffee, is what elevates this against its peers. Then there is the finish; evolving in the glass and lingering for hours on the palate. In short, this is a whisky that must be tasted to be believed. For anyone who enjoys decadent, sherried Speyside whiskies of considerable age, it is difficult to imagine a collection without this. The cask yielded only 276 bottles and I’m pleased to say I have secured a significant parcel, with preferential pricing on orders of 3+ bottles.