Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, 1972, 2025, Decadent Drams, 50.8 %, Reich glass, WB277516

Everything about this bottle is decadent, even the name. I find Decadent Drinks and their marketing strategy extremely annoying, yet I can't stop Google stalking them — their stories are kind of addictive. Here's another story, so Google it yourself and have fun! While you're doing that, we're playing the waiting game. Is five hours and twenty minutes enough, or do we have to wait half a decade? So, how do you drink such a decadent dram? To add to the decadence, we're pairing the drink with even more decadent glasses. Both are absurdly expensive, and altogether, with the bottle, they're total credit card killers: Izaak Reich from the Czech Republic and Josephine N° 3 from Germany, But I have to admit that these glasses are of the chain, they do enhance the aromas and taste incredibly. For a few hours, you will feel elegant and aristocratic, but also like snobby, arrogant, bourgeois jet-setters.

Nose: How do century eggs smell? Does it make any difference that this one is only half a century old? Don't get me wrong; nothing here smells of eggs, and they're only a few weeks old. Here, you can smell wisdom and reminiscences of much older libraries and students who have been studying in hidden corners for even longer. You can smell sweat evaporating in the air, mingling with old wood, furniture, and forgotten stories. Some of these stories are still remembered. If you do, it's like smelling whisky and recognising aromas of cream caramel, vanilla custard, milk chocolate and hints of banana. You turn the pages of those old books; some are antiques, written in ancient runes or alphabets. Now and again, you recognise words such as 'cantaloupe' and other kinds of honeyed, sweet tropical melons. Dive deeper into the calligraphy and you will read 'honey', even 'honeycomb'. 
Books about long journeys to the South Seas tell tales of tropical fruits and coconuts. It's interesting how, back home and tired from the long journey, you sit by your fireplace, remembering all the exotic cultures, and hold a very old brandy similar to Louis XIII cognac and just die there and then.

Palate: The arrival indeed picks up the thread: it is an old, wise cognac. It transforms sweet aromas into something deep and rich. It boldly coats the mouth with a mineral, even chalky, flavour, with hints of allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon, and a touch of clove in the aftertaste. It is like Earl Grey tea, sweetened with lots of sugar and a few drops of Amalfi lemon. 
Finish: The finish reveals some cloves and chalky notes, leading to a drier sensation. A few shy oaky tannins make their presence known. Before you die, a slight bitterness remains of things you have regretted doing or not doing. 
“When the storytelling goes bad in a society, the result is decadence.” – Aristotle.

93/92/91

Edradour 2025, 12 yrs, 46 %, SCAA Charity Bottling, WB293637

It's another charity bottling, so I bought it anyway just to support the cause, but I wasn't expecting anything in return. The SCAA (Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance) is a registered charity that assists the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) with emergency medical services by providing helicopter-based air ambulances. Nevertheless, Edradour's 10-year-old bottlings have lost a lot of complexity and depth in recent years, and consequently I have lost more and more interest. Of course just my opinion.

Nose: That's what I'm talking about: lots of sherry notes, but lacking in complexity and pretty simple. There are rum raisins, but not much sweetness, no sticky toffee, just an alcoholic freshness and some herbs. Surprisingly, there are some milk desserts like rice pudding, but no cinnamon. Now cacao powder and milk chocolate appear.

Palate: Despite the 46% ABV, it's quite alcoholic and spirit-driven. There is only a superficial sweetness and a burning sensation, as well as nutmeg and, finally, cinnamon. There is spiciness from ginger and some white pepper. It is sharp and oaky.

Finish: short and peppery, spicy. Although nothing was expected, it is still disappointing. Gone... “Vanished. Nothing left. Nothing said.” ― Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed

86/86/85