Speyside Millennium

Let's go back to December 31, 1999. At precisely 11:59 PM, the entire world was anticipating the final event that would send humanity back to the stone age... the dreaded Y2K. And you might say nothing happened. Well, spirits did happen. A collection of very cool expressions and decanters were released for the turn of the Millennium. One of those cool releases was The Speyside Millenium, an incredibly attractive crystal bottle, presented in a mahogany tantalus. Only 2000 bottles were produced to commemorate the end of the 20th century and the second Millennium. It was distilled in December 1990, at 40% ABV, from the distillery now called "Spey". I acquired this bottle from the Perfect Collection auction by Richard Gooding, the record auction where the two Macallan 1926 were sold for a million pounds each. On the nose, it begins with hay, tobacco, citrusy gooseberries; pineapple and vanilla cake. After a first taste, it presented two very interesting notes: coffee and also a rusty metal (oxide) sensation. On the palate, it is grassy and earthy. Bitter tobacco. Vanilla and Coffee. Aftertaste is really good. It starts with a chocolate note; then it reveals an earthy, peppery profile. Herbal and this wonderful mint chocolate finish. Overall, I have to conclude that even if this expression is one of those ornamental spirit bottles that most people will never drink or even open the decanter, the workers from the Speyside distillery made their best efforts to deliver a very good 9-year-old spirit, at only 40% ABV. Having said that, this won't change your life, nor is it disappointing like the Y2K was. A fair score for the "juice" itself is a solid 85 out of 100.