The story goes that the whisky boom in the 1960s and 70s lead to an overproduction of Scotch, a veritable “Whisky Loch”, but with changing economics and consumer preferences in the 1980s, the industry had a hard time, with many now-revered distilleries like Port Ellen and Brora closed or mothballed. If market logic holds, one should expect quality in this decade to be very good, given fierce competition over a shrinking market. I have today a handful of bottlings from the 1980s (bought from SimpleSample) to test this hypothesis.
Glenrothes | 8yo (bott. 1980s) | 40% | Gordon & MacPhail
from a 2cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Lots of fruity impressions, fresh and otherwise (peach, clementine, green apple; dried figs; Turkish delight). Juicy oak, with lots of vanilla and some marzipan. A hint of vegetables, greenery, anise, and thereto something dusty and faintly leathery.
Sipping
On the sweet side, relatively light in texture, and a little peppery. A fruity (in particular orange) and malt-forward flavour, with some feinty notes in the short finish.
💭 Comments
Nice enough, but quite generic and forgettable. Maybe the hint of vegetable is a slight old-bottle effect, but it’s overall stayed quite fresh.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Punchline
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No reason to get nostalgic here
Glenfarclas | 12yo (bott. 1980s) | 40% | Official
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Scotch single malt
🪵
no info
🔆
no info
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hard to estimate; probably €200 and up at auction
from a 2cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Dark chocolate (or perhaps cocoa nibs) and a light-roast coffee, then fruits: especially cherry, some banana, and a splash of lime juice. A more autumnal impression of mushrooms and dampness. Whiffs of floral spices, like coriander seed, and black tea. A somewhat lactic overall impression.
Sipping
Quite sweet, and tending towards the acidic, not too light in texture. The flavours are congruent with the nose: toasted and fruity, with some nice chocolate notes, some richness but not intensely. Weak finish, though.
💭 Comments
Are we being to eager to make interpretations if associate the roaster and chocolatey notes with the direct-fired stills at Glenfarclas? The acidic and mushroomy notes may sound strange, but I recently had some Oloroso sherry, which does have these tendencies. In the end, an OK dram, but not so remarkable. A direct comparison with the modern 10yo would have been fun.
Deliciousness
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Punchline
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Oloroso-y ‘farclas
Cragganmore | 12yo (bott. 1980s) | 40% | Official
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Scotch single malt
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no info
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no info
💲
hard to estimate; probably €200 and up at auction
from a 2cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Grassy and floral, with a nice grapefruit note, and there’s also something baking in the oven (vanilla, sweet bread, and a hint of smoke). For me it’s an emotionally evocative nose.
Sipping
Somewhat sugary, but my attention here is drawn towards a well-managed, tonic of bitterness. Tobacco notes, toasted nuts, and cardamom bun.
💭 Comments
There’s much to like here. The nose is lovely. There’s a lot of character in the palate, but the light mouthfeel and sugary sweetness doesn’t do the rest of it justice, unfortunately. But I feel it could be worthwhile exploring this distillery further.
Deliciousness
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Punchline
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A fine character, held back
Dalwhinnie | 15yo (bott. 1980s) | 40% | Official
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Scotch single malt
🪵
no info
🔆
no info
💲
hard to estimate; probably €200 and up at auction
from a 2cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Loads of orange, dried apricot, real sherry notes, and damp earth. Really quite good.
Sipping
Sweetness of caramel and fruit (again ‘ll go with sweet orange and apricot), a tinge of tobacco and leather in the development. Not a “bomb” of any sort; flavoursome and well-balanced.
💭 Comments
All in all, best of the bunch. Would do really well with an orangette. Luckily I have some of those! Unluckily, no more of the whisky…
Deliciousness
Fun factor
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Punchline
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Best of the bunch
The reviews may not seem too positive, but my reference point is mostly set by single cask or at least higher-abv whisky. Also, the value for money is with regards to current auction prices, not what they would cost in their day. A fairer comparison would be with modern 40% counterparts, and assuming similar pricing. I am quite ready to believe the moderns ones would be less characterful than the older generation, but a definite opinion on that shall have to await a blind side-by-side comparison.
DuckDrams 
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