White Horse bottled 1970s

This reviewed White Horse sample is from a very well sealed, foil-wrapped metal-wired mini with very little evapouration, and a US import tax stamp which was discontinued in 1977. This mini could have originated any time in the period of 1958 to 1977. This is blended Scotch whisky, with Lagavulin being the largest influence base malt

Colour: very deep, especially compared to the current 40% White Horse

Nose: beautiful, seemless perfectly harmonised flavours of very fragrant sweet peat, mild smoke, gentle malt, and, yes, wheat 'grain whisky'. I'd bet most people nosing this blind would never believe this to be blended Scotch and not single malt whisky. White Horse 43.4% abv blended Scotch smells like the mythic fantastic old malt whiskies of the glory days of the 1950s to 1970s. Superb. By contrast the current White Horse 40% abv smells rather spirity and very young, and the malt and grain flavours are noticeable, but do not show this wonderful integration, forming the whisky into one single piece of cloth

Taste: thinner, a bit less complex than in the nose, but quite robust with bass-pitched peat flavours tasting a lot like both slightly bitter coffee and black licorice. There is much more sour and bitter on the palate than in the nose. All sweetness is completely gone by mid-palate. The palate is more bracing than beautiful and contemplative. Interesting and enjoyable, but different from the nose

Finish: very long, ending on tart and sour, losing the sweet balance

Balance: there isn't a lot of balance here once you get past the nose. A taste for this is similar to a taste for Espresso in the morning for a nice jolt to get you going. Current White Horse 40% abv has a lot of sweetness on the palate and finish, which is completely absent here. This whisky has changed a lot over the years. I could enjoy nosing this old White Horse for very extended periods of time. The nose is spectacular