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Vega 40 Year Old 1977 North Star Spirits

Cola Vega

2 189

@markjedi1Review by @markjedi1

10th Sep 2018

1

  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Overall
    89

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  • Brand: Vega
  • ABV: 43.1%
  • Batch: 2

Do you remember the Vega 23 Year Old 1993? I thought that was great, but now a second Vega was released in which all components – all of them Speyside malts – have matured for 40 years! They were all distilled in 1977 – the year in which Star Wars hit the silver screen (sorry, couldn’t help myself).

OMG, what a lovely nose. All kinds of red and dark fruit in a stew, sprinkled with some cassis syrup and… cola zero! Add some woodspices, cigar box and dusty books. Almonds and raisins, lamp oil and freshly polished leather. After 40 years in cask, this shows surprisingly little wood, I might add. Very luscious, round, sweet and extremely aromatic.

Forgive the expression, but an angel is urinating on my tongue! Oily and mildly spicy, this whisky conquers the taste buds with soft notes of walnuts, chocolate cake, plums, red berries, cherries, chewing tobacco and maple syrup. Turns honeysweet, but it works like a charm. Spice-wise I’m thinking cloves and candied ginger. A fresh touch of mint and the absence of heavy woody notes (which you might expect after 4 decades) allow this whisky to mask its age. Very balanced!

I get a surprising touch of grapefruit in the finish, just a tad bitter. Said finish lingers for a very long time.

Outstanding whisky! All gone by now, of course. On the second hand market it reaches 300 EUR, which is more than double the original – ridiculously cheap – price. Oh, lest I forget: there is already a 3rd Vega, a 41 Year Old 1976, but unfortunately I was not yet able to secure a bottle (or sample).

1 comments

@MadSingleMalt
MadSingleMalt commented

Wow, that does sound ridiculously cheap!

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

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