NV The Last Drop 48 YO 1965 Blended Scotch

American Standard Barrel. Nose: ridiculously pliable nose: the grain used is clearly made from corn which, with the great age, means a distinct Canadian/bourbon trait impresses; the spices are playful and occasionally an apologetic puff of smoke reminds you this is a blend, not a grain… Taste: the corn oils pave the way for a fabulous delivery – not entirely unlike a breakfast cereal with a dollop of honey to sweeten things up. The oak offers a precision to the weight and spice. Finish: again, a hint of smoke takes you away for the North American feel to this. The honey remains perfectly measured to ensure the encroaching oaky vanilla never dominates. Balance: almost impossible to imagine a blended whisky to be better balanced than this. If there is a cleverer use of honey or less intrusive oak in any blended whisky bottled in the last year, I have yet to taste it. An award winner if ever I tasted on. Magnificent doesn’t quite cover it. 48.6%.