Note: this is for a 23-year-old French cask New Zealander whiskey, not the one listed here...but I was eager to leave a review, and they didn't have this specific one available (it's extinct now anyway). This is from a 3cl sample (another one from the many I purchased during a UK business trip last year.) I enjoy trying samples from distilleries that have closed. There's an emotional component in knowing that these are truly limited and will likely never be produced again (especially a New Zealand one, where all its distilleries have shut down.) It's a true rarity. The only other closed distilleries I've tried were from two amazing legacies—a 30-year-old Brora and a 21-year-old Rosebank. This one doesn't compare to its extinct Scottish counterparts, but it's close. The nose is like an Irish whiskey. Fruity, like guavas and passion fruit. Exotic tropical fruits. The taste carries through very smoothly without the oak influence for a 23-year-old. It's more tropical fruits. More mangoes and guavas, lime and oranges as well. This is incredible. I feel like I'm having one of the best lowlanders. The finish has eucalyptus and honey. Now it's more like a Speysider. Half of it is definitely the thought of holding a piece of history. The other half is simply excellent craftsmanship.
South Island Single Malt 21 Year
Whiskey World Whisky South Island 21 Year 40% ABV
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About this bottle
The New Zealand Whisky Collection's signature whisky comes from the now-closed Willowbank Distillery in Dunedin. Established in 1974 by the Baker family, Willowbank was acquired by Seagram’s in the 1980s, who began marketing the whisky as Lammerlaw, named after a mountain range in Central Otago. Fosters purchased it again in 1997 but redirected the stills to Fiji for rum production. Remaining casks were stored and matured in ex-bourbon barrels until the New Zealand Whisky Company acquired them, reviving New Zealand's whisky heritage. They have since released various age statements and cask finishes. This particular single malt spent 21 years maturing in American oak ex-bourbon casks.
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I had the good fortune to sample this a few years back, and it was among the first bottles I acquired. It possessed a beautifully subtle vanilla note. When I mentioned to a distillery representative at an event that I still had a bottle, I was informed it was now valued at approximately $700 USD. Considering I paid $120, that's a remarkable return on investment, but sadly, it might have to become my first investment bottle rather than one to be consumed!
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