Timorous Beastie 40y

Named after the poem "To a Mouse", by Robert Burns. I had to look up the word "timorous", and it turns out that it means "of a timid disposition". 40 year old whiskies might often be soft and dampened, but this one here still has a hefty amount of alcoholic strength in it, so we'll see about that. I've read good things about it and picked it out for a blind tasting with the local club. It's a blended malt, semi-officially containing whisky from Dalmore, Blair Athol, Glen Garioch and Glengoyne.

40 is a respectable age, but I would never have guessed it. Didn't find much of the usual "old wood" notes at all. Instead, I got a superbly accelerating, fruity slam-dunk of a dram - and this is not a timorous beastie at all. I've had another 40 year old blended malt, the Vega 40, which is nothing like this at all. The Vega 40 is bottled at a mere 43.1% (cask strength, mind you) and is the classy, cozy grandpa in front of the fireplace. The Timorous Beastie 40 is the buff, Hawaii-shirt wearing grandpa on his way to the beach bar on a neon-colored motorcycle.