Fettercairn 28 years Old Antique Lions of Spirits The Birds 50.6% 1988

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (90)

No it’s not true that I’ve been postponing this whole session. All right, I did procrastinate a wee bit… Colour: white wine. Nose: interesting, and that’s proper aging at play. Pumpkin seed oil, apricots, orange cake, citron liqueur, barley water, more pumpkin seed oil, much more pumpkin seed oil… And argan oil. That, I enjoy a lot. With water: ooh careful, water may blow this baby off the road. Please only add one or two drops, or it’ll get extremely cardboardy. Mouth (neat): no! I mean, yes! Limoncello matured in oil barrels. More or less… Totally love this. With water: wax, avocados, Brazil nuts, lamp oil, honeycomb. But then and again, do not add too much water… Finish: medium, with more typical inky notes. Almost paint. Comments: a malt like no other malt indeed, almost another kind of spirit. Barley mezcal or something… (yes I know, no sense at all)… But I loved it.

Whisky Notes (88)

Nose: the first thing that springs to mind is this kind of effervescent vitamin C tablets, although this fades. Oranges. Cantaloupe. Overripe pineapple – a key element today? Also nutty notes and bit of leather. Rye bread. A little sunflower oil. Touches of ferns. Not entirely classic, but very interesting. Mouth: sweet and spicy, some apple skin, and than flashes of beautiful apricot notes and herbal notes. Creamy but also zesty. Sweet lemons. Malons. Hints of chlorophyll. Finish: medium long, still a sweet fruity side with slight grassy touches and ginger.
Fettercairn is not an obvious choice if you’re launching a premium range, but hey, it works. A little whacky around the edges, but unique. A brave selection.