Happy International Whisky Day


March 27, 2024

Happy International Whisk(e)y Day!

Today is International Whisky Day, the original international day of whisky that started right here on Whiskyfun in 2008, following the suggestion of the famous Dutch whisky writer Hans Offringa, who was the first to come up with the idea. Each year, International Whisky Day pays tribute, on his birthday, to the great whisky writer Michael Jackson, who sadly passed away in 2007.

To celebrate this grand day, we wanted to choose one, and only one, whisky that was emblematic of the era of Michael Jackson, known as Emdjay. It's one of the very rare occasions where WF tastes only one whisky, we mere tardigrades who don't even come close to the greatness of 'Emdjay'.

Coleburn 1972/1996 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, old map label)

One of the many distilleries closed by the predecessors of Diageo in the early 1980s, but not one of the most renowned, even though obsessive enthusiasts have always held it in high regard for its very particular fruity character. At WF, we have only tasted 25 Coleburns to date, and I doubt we'll ever reach 30. Michael Jackson was not a huge fan of Coleburn, as he wrote about the Rare Malts 21 yo at 59.4% that this 'valedictory Rare Malts vintage was as enjoyable as any Coleburn to have been bottled in recent decades.' Before rating it 73/100. He could be tough! Generally, we taste some of his favourite old Macallans to pay tribute to Michael Jackson but for once, we are probably going to dare to contradict him, 30 years later (S., you fool!). Colour: gold. Nose: probably one of the best of this series, if we exclude Brora, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Port Ellen and a few others. Whiffs of dandelion flowers early in the morning before the bees arrive, ham, a lot of beeswax, a bit of 'added' caramel, mead, old white Burgundy, hints of vanilla fudge, a tiny bit of canned pineapple, some typical metallic notes (old copper)... But by no means can the low alcohol degree be felt on the nose, even after nearly thirty years in the bottle at 40% vol. Mouth: wonderful. Smoky, metallic, resinous, tarry, almost in the territory of an old Coal Ila G&M (before the reconstruction). We continue with an apple tarte covered with vanilla and salted butter caramel ice cream, then onto lapsang souchong, bone marrow broth, and old fino from Jerez. It's splendid like a Van Gogh compared to a Jeff Koons. No, we will not tell you which are the 'Jeff Koons' of the current malt distilleries. Finish: of medium length, certainly, but with a sweet-salty side now unfindable in Scotland. Perhaps it is that which we should seek to rediscover. Comments: we understand why Coleburn was long associated with 'old' Clynelish before the war. A true marvel, cheers to Michael Jackson and Happy International Whisky Day 2024!
SGP:451 - 92 points.

Let's also take a moment to remember another Coleburn from 1972, the 47-year-old released by G&M in 2020 at... 62.4%. It was a true splendour (WF 93), but there won't be many more Coleburns. Except perhaps for new whiskies under the banner of ACEO/Murray McDavid, the current owners of the brand and buildings.

Today, let's raise a glass to Michael Jackson and please help fight Parkinson's Disease!

Check the index of all Coleburn we've tasted so far