Strathmore 32 Year Old 1972 Rest and Be Thankful

Never head of Strathmore? Me neither. So this will be my first Strathmore. Apparantly it was a distillery known as North of Scotland, operational between 1957 and 1980. And while they experimented with single malt, it never worked so they only produced grain whisky. Most of the bottles are sold under the North of Scotland banner, but a few labelled Strathmore are also to be found. The story behind this bottle is something different. The whisky was bottled for the first time in 2004 (and hence the 32 year old age statement), but the bottled were forgotten in a warehouse. Upon rediscovery, the company dared not sell the bottles as they had been sitting in the dark for over a decade and thus it was not certain the ABV was still correct. They were dumped in a marrying tun and re-bottled in March 2015. That explains while this whisky from 1972 is still only (well) a 32 Year Old. Enough history. Let us taste.

The first thing that catches my nose’s attention is the truckload of vanilla and some tobacco leaves. This smells a lot like rum. A whole lot of coconut kicks in. Touch of varnish. All quite ‘classic’ for a single grain.

It is oily on the palate.Touch spicy, but quite alcoholic. Next to the coconut and the vanilla, I get some marshmallows. And a hint of strawberries. Not overly complex, but quite good.

The finish is rather short and somewhat drying.

Nice first encounter with this grain whisky. Around 130 EUR. Thanks for the sample, Michael! The Rest & Be Thankful Whisky Company is a young independent bottler that, next to this Strathmore and two Arran, has concentrated solely on Islay with the release of one Bruichladdich, three Port Charlotte and eight Octomore casks. The name of the company refers to a stone with the same inscription at the crossroads of the A83 and the B828 near Glen Coe. It was a military road built in 1753 and the soldiers left the stone. While the original is lost, a plaque was installed with the same text.