It’s been a good week for ... whisky
A 100-year-old bottle of whisky found in a laundry cupboard in Ayrshire is to have its first airing in public.
The malt was found wrapped in a tea towel in Troon 30 years ago but its discovery only recently came to light.
It was bottled in 1920, having been matured for at least three years, and is thought to be the oldest unopened bottle of Glenfarclas whisky.
Soon it is to be displayed at the Glenfarclas distillery in Moray.
The bottle was originally presented to the manager of Gartloch distillery in Glasgow, Stephen Dowell, when it closed down in 1920.
It was passed down to his daughter, and then her niece's husband, after it was found in the back of a laundry cupboard in 1988.
He kept hold of it until last year when his family contacted the Glenfarclas distillery, which is based near Ballindalloch, when it all came out in the wash and the bottle was handed over to the distillery for an undisclosed sum earlier this year.
The bottle, which is labelled "rare, old" and "75% proof" will be on display at the Glenfarclas distillery for a limited time as the conditions of the visitor centre could damage it.
A spokeswoman for the firm said there were no plans to open the bottle.
Just as well. At 75% proof, this dram is more topple than tipple.
It’s been a bad week for ... whisky
Better on the nose, one hopes, is a new perfume based on our national drink.
Imogen Russon-Taylor has taken her experience in the whisky industry and transferred it to fragrance and will launch Kingdom Scotland this month with three limited-edition eau de parfums – Metamorphic, Portal and Albaura – all inspired by Scotland.
The gender-neutral perfumes are created by hand in Scotland, by Russon-Taylor and her team in Edinburgh’s New Town.
She explained: “I have always been a fragrance fanatic, and a whisky fan, and when I began to work in the whisky industry, I was inspired by the complexity of aroma in whisky – there are so many parallels with perfume. In perfume there is also the creation process of distilling oils, and the language of ‘nosing’ whisky and of ‘notes’ in perfume have so many similarities.”
The results of her dedication are not to be sniffed at. A 7.5ml travel vial of the amber nectar comes in at £18, with the 50ml numbered limited edition priced £95.
Probably cheaper dabbing a 100-year-old Glenfarclas behind your lugs.
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