4 August 2016 Ruben * Undisclosed

Speyside Region 1975 (Sansibar)

Name: Speyside Region 1975 (Sansibar)
Brand: * Undisclosed
Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Another undisclosed Speyside malt 1975, bottled by Sansibar. I’m not sure this is available from their regular resellers yet, but I’ve seen it on the Sansibar website – and maybe they have good reasons to hold this back a little…

Speyside Region Malt 40 yo 1975 (50,6%, Sansibar 2015, 435 btl.)

Nose: actually its profile is very similar to that of the Speyside Finest, but everything is more clear and more aromatic due to the higher strength. Wonderful apricots, mirabelles, guava, whitecurrant and banana. Beautiful waxy notes, moving towards honey and beehive. Very subtle leafy notes. Water brings out a hint of vanilla marshmallow and white chocolate.

Mouth: exquisitely fruity. Apricots, mango chutney, jammy greengages, tangerine, passion fruits. A whole range of elegant beehive notes again. Polished oak, a little nougat. Candied ginger. Fruit tea. Again a tad rounder with just a few drops of water.

Finish: long, with sappy oak (within limits) and mint.

I think this is stunning whisky. You know I love all these undisclosed 1970s Speyside whiskies, and this is definitely one of the best I’ve had. Enough said. Around € 390.

Score: 94/100

7Comments

Add yours

1

Jorn on 20 September 2016 at 16:21

Hi Ruben,
Thnx for the review, nice. May I ask you: why did you score this whisky 94 on second thoughts? And why, according to you, does it deserve 1 extra point, compared tot the other Sansibar speyside 40? Kind regards, Jorn
2

WhiskyNotes on 20 September 2016 at 19:09

I kept a small sip for comparison indeed. It’s the most lusciously fruity of all these Speysiders imho.
3

Jorn on 22 September 2016 at 10:39

Thnx for the reply. Sounds terrific!
Do you think it’s Glenfarclas? (That would be surprising because then this would be the best Glenfarclas you’ve ever reviewed, including old family casks etc).
What I actually mean is: did you also account for the price when giving this score, or did you just rate quality?
And in case you didn’t: is the quality of these Speyside bottlings really of comparable quality to stellar bottlings of old single casks OB? (often bottlings of 1000/2000 euro+..) Because in that case, these undefined Speyside malts would be a relative ‘bargain’ (tastewise). Am I wrong?
Kind regards,
Jorn
4

WhiskyNotes on 22 September 2016 at 11:23

I only rate quality as prices are volatile, depending on markets and taxes, etc. Yes, it is a relative bargain but only because OB’s are so overpriced these days! I can think of quite a few Family Casks that play in the same league (93-94). It’s one of the best for sure, though we have to remember scores are dangerous considering they were given over the course of many years. I don’t claim to be an aromatic robot 😉
5

Jorn on 23 September 2016 at 14:02

Okay, thnx man!
6

Jayson ozoria on 4 April 2017 at 23:46

I think this is a fantastic cask… cant get enough of it. i would say 94 easy. love how fruity it is. mouth feel takes the experience to the next level. overall a great whisky. i think the best of the 40+ year speyside regions released in the last few years.
7

WhiskyNotes on 4 April 2017 at 23:58

Agreed, wonderful whisky!

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