Teaninich 33 Year Old 1983 Berry Bros & Rudd

A 33 years old Teaninch? Here’s something you don’t see every day. The lion’s share of production goes into Johnnie Walker (mostly Red Label) and thus this malt can hardly be found as a single malt, unless you look at the offerings from independent bottlers. This Teaninich from 1983 was bottled by Berry Bros & Rudd from London.

Ooh, this nose is a tad old school, fatty with honey, some chalk, the floor of a dunnage warehouse and heather. Underneath lurks a can of peach in syrup (opened, obviously, it would be somewhat silly otherwise). It has a scent of wood, but not oak. Think balsa or ceder. Very nice and layered nose. It even reminds me a bit of Clynelish.

Wonderfully oily on the palate. Sweet on peach, but with a surprising drop of olive oil in the mix. Umami almost. Leather, barley sugar, again quite old school with a lovely spicy touch that does nothing to diminish the sweetness. Very, very good.

In the long finish, it’s the oak that speaks first, but then moves over to allow the sweet fruit and the heather to shine again, with a bit of icing sugar on top. And then suddenly your mouth is left completely dry.

While the label does not reveal it, I guess this was a sherry cask. Whatever the case, this is probably the best Teaninich I have tried to date. Around 300 EUR which – considering the quality and age of this single malt – is actually quite fair.

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