The Fettercairn distillery is not highly regarded and doesn’t have a history of great releases. It’s currently owned by Whyte & Mackay and only has one official release, the 12 year old Fettercairn 1824.
This bottling is part of The Whisky Agency’s ‘Perfect Dram’ series. It’s pretty unusual to find such an old bottling (33 years old). As a matter of fact, independent bottlings are rare altogether. It was matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead.
Fettercairn 33y 1975 (58,3%, The Whisky Agency 2008, Perfect Dram I, 143 btl.)
Nose: when I first opened my sample, I was surprised to find a few off-notes. Mushrooms, rancid butter, that kind of stuff. But they disappeared almost immediately after pouring it into my glass. Well, there’s still a buttery / nutty undertone, but that’s nice enough, so let’s forget about it. It’s also nicely fruity, grainy and spicy. A bit of cumin, some cinnamon and cloves. Hints of sour cream? Interesting. There’s also some speculoos and cookies. Apple and pear.
Mouth: starting a bit sharp and sour (ginger, orange peel, tannins), but getting more powerful and fruity. Big, juicy grapefruit! Really nice. Some apricot, kumquat and tangerine. Still some cumin as well. Finish on grapefruit, again a bit sour and slightly bitter. Oranges. Christmas cake and unripe mango in the aftertaste.
A difficult dram, it goes in different directions which is confusing but interesting at the same time. It does have a unique character though. Around € 160.
Score: 82/100