Guide to 40 year old whisky
The ageing process accounts for the vast majority of a whisky’s flavour. This magical wood has the ability to impart all manner of aromas and flavours into the spirit - flavours like spice, sweetness, vanilla, caramel, coffee, pepper, leather… The list goes on. And, after 40 years in oak, the result can often be a whisky with incredible complexity and depth of flavour.
Most whisky is bottled much, much younger than this. Partly because of the sheer difficulty and skill required to age any spirit for this length of time, and the relative cost-efficiency of bottling spirits much younger. And, partly because of phenomena like the Angel’s Share, which is the evaporated spirit which escapes from porous oak during the ageing process. In fact, the Angel’s Share can account for a loss of around 2-5% every year! Whatever is left after 40 years is stunningly rare.
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Author:
Michael Orson
Reading time: 10 minutes
Why buy a 40 year old whisky?
As you can imagine, whisky of this age commands quite a price tag. It can also be mighty hard to track down. However, one of the perks of working in this industry is we have had the opportunity to try a number of 40 year old whiskies. A tough life, we know, but someone’s got to do it. We can tell you that the diversity of flavour is really something - no two taste alike, and every single one is a unique experience. That’s part of the reason why they’re a connoisseur's dream.
There’s also something rather special about the big milestone years (30, 40, 50, etc.). It makes them an ideal (and, let’s face it, very generous) gift for celebrating a 40th birthday or anniversary, or commemorating any of life’s big moments.
What does 40 year old whisky taste like?
As mentioned above, no two are alike. Whisky is a drink with an incredibly broad and varied flavour profile, arguably more than any other spirit. You could take a trip to the Lowlands and have a dram of triple-distilled single malt that tastes of honeysuckle and rose petals. You could then make your way up to the Isle of Orkney and sip an intense, citrussy, smoky, woody Highland Park. This massive variation in style is just as present in 40 year old whisky.
Of course, there are the classic notes of spice and wood, leather, coffee and caramel you associate with oak ageing. You’ll also get the character of whatever was previously in the casks, be it sherry, bourbon, or something totally different like Port, Rum, or Sauternes… Regardless of this, the main flavours will often depend on the type of whisky you’re drinking and the region in which it was distilled.
Choosing the perfect 40 year old whisky
So, you’re after a bottle of whisky for that special event, or perhaps you’re looking for the perfect 40th birthday gift. And, you’re probably wondering where to start. Well, we’ve done the leg work for you. Did this involve trying a lot of delicious whisky? Yes. However, we pulled through, somehow, and we’ve curated a selection of recommendations based on style, as well as the country and region in which they were made.
40 year old whisky by style
40 Year Old Single Malt Whisky
The style synonymous with Scotch and one of our personal favourites, single malt whisky is one of the most rich, evocative spirits in the world. It all starts with malted barley and just two other ingredients: water and yeast, and that’s it! It must be distilled at a single distillery (thus the “single” bit), before being aged in oak for a minimum of three years.
Your typical flavours will include the sweet, cereal-y malt notes from the barley, as well as things like honey, a little spice, sometimes smoke or peat, maybe a little leather and coffee. It can also be incredibly fruity or even floral.
Whilst historically associated with Scotland, single malt whisky is actually produced in a vast number of countries - you can find single malts from India, Japan, Ireland, Wales, England, and the USA, among many others.
Now, you may be able to find single malt whisky all over the world, but one thing you won’t find everywhere is 40 year old single malt whisky. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it is incredibly costly and intensive to produce - it is far easier and more efficient to sell lots of bottles of, say, a 10 year old, as opposed to just a handful of 40 year old whiskies. Secondly, and crucially when looking around the world, very few countries have been making single malt for long enough: there just aren’t the stocks. Whilst your best bet is Scotland, you can find some wonderful expressions from Japan and, sometimes, Ireland.
This cask of 46-year-old Ardbeg single malt sold for £16 million
40 Year Old Grain Whisky
Much less common but a great spirit in its own right, grain whisky is made similarly to single malt, but rather than just malted barley, it contains at least some other grains as well. These are typically cereal grains like wheat, rye, and corn. It also differs in that it is usually distilled in “Coffey” or column stills, which tend to give a less punchy, smoother, simpler style of whisky.
It’s also very rarely bottled on its own, as most of it is used to make blended whisky. That’s not to say you won’t find some really good examples, however. Independent bottlers will occasionally put out single grains from distilleries like Cambus, Caledonian, and Invergordon. They’re a unique and often delicious experience.
40 Year Old Blended Whisky
If you take malt whisky and grain whisky and mix them together, you’re left with blended whisky. Grain tends to be cheaper and easier to produce, but lacks a little of malt whisky’s complexity. Whereas malt is a richer, more flavoursome spirit, with a more intensive (read: expensive) production process. A master blender is able to take both malt and grain whisky and create something truly fabulous, benefitting from the positive points of both. For this reason, blended whisky is the world’s bestselling style.
It is usually bottled at a much younger age than your average single malt. In fact, legally speaking, the age on a bottle must refer to the youngest whisky inside. This means that to bottle a 40 year old blend, every single grain and single malt whisky used in the recipe must be aged for at least 40 years. As you might imagine, the selection below includes some really exclusive spirits.
40 Year Old Blended Malt Whisky
Not to be confused with blended whisky, a blended malt is actually just single malt whisky, but from more than one distillery. It was historically referred to as “vatted malt” and sometimes “pure malt” whisky, and it allows a blender to create a recipe which showcases the characteristics and aromas of multiple distilleries, and sometimes of multiple regions. There are some great examples of blended malts, particularly from Japan where the style is very popular.
There’s also the process of “teaspooning”, which creates a blended malt. Teaspooning is often done by distilleries when they want to sell their spirit to a third party for use in blends or other bottlings. Essentially, the distillery will put a tiny amount (or “teaspoon”) of another distillery’s single malt into their whisky when selling it on. This prevents the third party from bottling it as a single malt with the original distillery’s name.
40 year old whisky by country
40 Year old Scotch Whisky
Since we first opened our doors in 1985, Scotch whisky has always been our first true love. We adore the stuff for its complexity and massive variety, as well as for the incredible impact made on the aroma and flavour by different production methods and styles, as well as ingredients, the terroir (the place in which it is made), and the maturation process. This accounts for the enormous diversity of a spirit produced in a relatively small geographical area. You could take a peaty, smoky whisky from Islay and compare it with a soft, floral dram from the Lowlands, and be forgiven for thinking they were two totally different drinks. And these regional variations are just as present in 40 year old whisky. This means that dividing Scotch up into its regions is a great way to start.
Speyside
Speyside is one of the most approachable whisky regions, and certainly home to some of the most famous, classic Scotch distilleries. It is also home to more distilleries than any other Scotch whisky region, and even within Speyside there is a lot of variety to be found. We like to think of Speyside as home to two core styles. You’ve got the bigger, fuller-bodied spirits aged in sherry casks, some of which are like Christmas in a glass, made by distilleries like Aberlour and Glenfarclas. Then you have the malt-driven, honeyed, sweeter whiskies from Balvenie, or Glenfiddich. There are even some Speyside distilleries making peated whisky!
Islay
Despite being a tiny little island, Islay produces some of the world’s most famous, legendary whiskies. Located not far from the west coast of Scotland, Islay is home to the smokiest, fieriest spirits in the country, like Ardbeg and Laphroaig. This is thanks to peat, which can be found all over the island, and was a historically crucial fuel source for its residents. It’s also used in the distillation process as fuel for kilning the barley at the end of the malting process. The peat smoke fills the kiln and gives the malted barley flavours like smoke and oily tar, as well as medicinal notes like iodine and burning sticking plasters. There’s plenty of variety on Islay, however, and each of the nine active distilleries boasts its own trademark spirit, with some even choosing to use little to no peat at all (such as Bunnahabhain)… there’s something for everyone!
Highland
In terms of geographic size, the Highlands form the largest whisky region in Scotland. And, thanks to this size, they are home to a great number of distilleries each with their own unique characteristics. The Highland distilleries are often divided into four subregions, based on their location. The Northern Highlands produces big, aromatic, sweet whiskies, which are occasionally peated. Think of Dalmore, Balblair, and Tomatin. In the South, distilleries like Aberfeldy and Glenturret make lighter whiskies, often with aromas of fruit. If you go West (life is peaceful there) you can find powerful, full-bodied whiskies like Ben Nevis or Glengoyne. And, finally, pop over to the Eastern Highlands where the whiskies are often very fruity, rather malty, and sometimes a little smoky. Glen Garioch and Fettercairn are good examples.
Lowland
Historically nicknamed the “Lowland Ladies”, whiskies from the region lean to a softer, more delicate, and often floral style. Much of this is due to the use of triple distillation, which makes a very smooth if gentle spirit when compared to the more common twice-distilled whiskies from the rest of the country. This lovely style is quite hard to come by - many of the distilleries closed, although more recently some, including the legendary Rosebank, are reopening their doors again. Auchentoshan and Littlemill also produce some great little drams, and if you have the opportunity to try a 40 year old Lowland malt, we say jump at it.
Island
Scotland’s 6,160 miles of coastline include numerous islands (790 actually), and some of them even make whisky! The Islands form a spread-out, fascinating region with distilleries making wildly different drams. One typical characteristic you can often find throughout is the coastal influence. This is due to the traditional dunnage warehouses’ proximity to the sea, allowing the coastal aromas to gradually permeate the casks as they mature.
Each island offers up something of its own… Starting in the very north on the Isle of Orkney there are two distilleries: Scapa, which makes a citrus-led, light, malty whisky, and Highland Park, which is a world-renowned distillery famous for its rich, smoky, heather-like spirits. On the Isle of Skye, you’ll find the full-bodied, slightly smoky, intense, “volcanic” whiskies associated with Talisker. If you head to the Isle of Mull, you can enjoy the herbal, sweeter whisky of Tobermory. Arran, situated on its eponymous island, makes a very malty, often tropical whiskey. And for something oily with a big dollop of coastal flavour, look no further than the Jura distillery.
Campbeltown
Located on the Kintyre peninsula to the west of Scotland, Campbeltown is an unusual, curious little region. It was once known as the whisky capital of the world thanks to its large number of distilleries and prodigious output. However, US Prohibition led to a fall in demand, affecting Campbeltown greatly, particularly as the region had started to become known for quantity over quality.
Today, just three distilleries remain: Glen Scotia, Glengyle, and Springbank. Broadly speaking, their whiskies lean to a drier, pungent sort of style, but it’s actually rather tricky to summarise them. This is because they each produce unique malts. Springbank in particular makes three distinct single malts, all bottled under different names. These include the self-titled Springbank, which is distilled 2.5 times; the unpeated, thrice-distilled Hazelburn; and the peated, twice-distilled Longmorn.
40 Year old Irish Whiskey
Found the world over, Irish whiskey is often sweet, rounded, and really easy to sip. It can also be complex, challenging, and intense. Of course, everyone knows the back bar mainstays like Bushmills and Jameson - a couple of the best-selling whiskeys on the planet. However, there are also some wonderfully tasty single malt whiskeys and single grains. And it would be remiss not to mention Ireland’s remarkable Single Pot Still style, which combines the more peppery, spice notes of unmalted barley, with the more classic honey, cereal flavours of barley malt. Whilst exceedingly rare, there are some really interesting, mouthwatering 40 year old Irish whiskeys out there.
40 Year Old Japanese Whisky
The history of whisky in Japan began in the early part of the 20th century, and was spearheaded largely thanks to two men: Suntory’s Shinjiro Torii, and Nikka’s Masataka Taketsuru. Their rival firms own award-winning, acclaimed distilleries like Yamazaki, Hakushu, and Yoichi, among others. Between them, they produce some of the world’s finest blended malts and blends, as well as some exceptional single malts. These are heavily inspired by the methods of the Scotch distillers, and over time, the Japanese learnt to beat them at their own game, with single malts from Japan often outdoing Scotch in competitions! There isn’t much 40 year old Japanese whisky available, but we can pretty much guarantee it will be astonishing.
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