More secrets and blended malts


February 18, 2026

More secrets and blended malts

Glen Avon

In short, we don’t know very much about what we’re going to taste, but our spirits remain undaunted. And we’re going to try sampling a few very old versions…

Secret Speyside 24 yo 1997/2022 (50.3%, Thompson Bros., refill barrels, 540 bottles)

It is whispered here and there that this might be a Glenlivet, yet having no firm certainty, we shall refrain from adding it to a ‘Glenlivet’ session. Colour: light gold. Nose: more apples than on an apple tree and more pears than on a pear tree, alongside a delicate touch of beeswax and green pepper, then light honey and a little vanilla cream. With water: it does not budge. Mouth (neat): this is very much ‘Speyside without sherry’, firmly rooted in orchard fruits, especially apples, plums, pears… There is a most charming bitterness that preserves the faintly sharp edge of the whole. Hints of pistachio. With water: slightly more body, peanut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, yet always upon a more herbaceous base that prevents it from becoming, let us say, flabby. Very good indeed. Finish: of medium length and above all very, very well balanced. Few rough edges in truth, yet that in itself is a kind of edge. I know what I’m trying to say… A light fudge lingers in the aftertaste. Comments: nothing tells us that this is not Glenlivet, yet it could just as well be many other distilleries of Speyside.
SGP:551 - 87 points.

St Bridget’s Kirk ‘Solera Batch #5’ (48.5%, Hannah Whisky Merchants, blended malt, fino-oloroso finish, 2025)

A very lovely series, here the fino proves rather intriguing. We do adore fino, even Tio Pepe. Colour: gold. Nose: remarkable how one feels suddenly transported into the triangle, if one may put it thus, almost to Sanlúcar. Magnificent walnuts and tobacco, together with, once again, peanut butter and pistachio paste. Truly a most handsome nose. Mouth: the walnut rules the roost, and it is a rule we could scarcely dispute, even as pepper and even chilli come quietly insinuating themselves. Also a touch of quinine. Absolutely excellent for a modest NAS. Finish: long and delightfully peppery, with tobacco and, of course, walnuts returning to haunt you for quite some time. Honey comes along to soften the whole. Comments: I do adore this magnificently dry combination.
SGP:461 - 87 points

Living Souls 3 yo (46.15%, Thompson Bros. x Living Souls, blended Scotch, 2025)

Living Souls 3 yo (46.15%, Thompson Bros. x Living Souls, blended Scotch, 2025)
No idea what this might be, perhaps there is some Dornoch within? Colour: full gold. Nose: oh very lovely indeed, with wood to the fore yet remarkably well balanced, caramelised, almost candied, with plenty of apricot tart smothered in honey and cinnamon, then a waft of hay smoke. A nose almost joyful, in any case also delightfully nostalgic, speaking straight to your soul. Quite right, Living Souls! Mouth: the spices from the cask take centre stage, especially the quartet of ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and nutmeg, yet honey and dried apricots wrap it all up to perfection. It is only 3 years of age, though one is not entirely convinced that every component was quite so youthful. Finish: long, more saline now, smoky, coastal, with peat stepping firmly into the limelight. Lovely fatness, a pleasing fermentary side, and a rather charming, ever so slightly dirty edge. Comments: another 87, I fear.
SGP:555 - 87 points.

Secret Highland 35 yo 1985/2020 (47.4%, Mancarella for Scotch 88 Ukrainian Whisky Community, cask #13, hogshead, 88 bottles)

A mysterious malt, yet we do know that a small number of Glenmorangie casks from those years have circulated amongst the brokers. Colour: full gold. Nose: this does evoke the coastal Highlands north of Inverness on the east coast, indeed, though it could therefore be something else, as the beeswax is rather pronounced, yet not quite sufficiently so to be Clynelish in truth, nor even Pulteney. Glenmo does seem entirely plausible. A very handsome side of yellow flowers and acacia honey, soft vanilla, brioches, banana cake, Earl Grey… In short, a nose for a lady, and that fits Glenmorangie rather well. Mouth: perhaps a shade more nervous than the distillery just mentioned might suggest, and the cask has certainly done its duty throughout these 35 years, adding plenty of herbal infusions and a faint breadcrumb note. Yet the arrival of oranges, including their candied zests, swiftly restores the balance and renders this old malt almost fresh and lively. Finish: of medium length, rather on milk chocolate filled with orange jam, with a touch of ginger, then marzipan. Comments: an excellent old malt that has certainly not spoken its final word. And that final word would, in any case, be Slava Ukraini!
SGP:551 - 88 points.

Right then, a little step back in time…

Glen Avon 15 yo (57%, Gordon & MacPhail for Sestante, +/-1985)

In certain retirement homes there are elderly Scots with long white beards who still debate the origin of these Glen Avon, whether it is Macallan, whether it is Glenfarclas, whether at times it may have been several distilleries, and then what of Avonside… Colour: full amber. Nose: it begins slightly smoky, in a barbecue fashion, even with touches of steak a little over-grilled, a faint Mortlach-style sulphur (no problems in this context, quite the contrary) followed by tonnes upon tonnes of dark nougat and turrón, beyond a certain beef stock character. With water: the sulphur becomes even more pronounced, I would have said Mortlach without hesitation – and I would probably have been wrong. Mouth (neat): superbly old-school, brimming with tobacco, mint, dried mushrooms, slightly burnt caramel, chestnut and heather honeys, dark chocolate, soy sauce, dried beef (Grisons, bresaola, jerky…) … Alas, I regret to inform you that no one makes this style of malt any longer nowadays. With water: dried fruits come charging in, figs leading the way. Finish: long and very jammy, culminating in vanilla and kirsch-laced chestnut purée. A killer. Comments: to be enjoyed whilst listening to Duke Ellington.
SGP:562 - 91 points.

At this point, there’s no more joking, it’s time to bring out the heavy artillery…

Secret Speyside 45 yo 1979/2025 (50.3%, The Whisky Blues, refill bourbon hogshead, cask #12312, 91 bottles)

If you will allow, let us forget the guessing games, all the more so as at this age (that of the whisky, not our own) matters inevitably grow uncertain. Colour: full gold. Nose: it has reached the stage of herbal infusions and honeys, also pollen and beeswax, though in a restrained manner. Old apples, a light touch of cinnamon, discreet furniture polish. With water (just a drop): fine old cider, oil paint. Mouth (neat): all delicacy and subtlety, chiefly upon herbal infusions and teas. Orange biscuits, pink pepper, cinnamon… An old malt entering its murmuring phase, yet one that still has plenty to say. With water: a return of tension, thanks to our friends the oranges, which have already rescued millions of different malts in tasting sessions. Finish: of medium length, more on herbal infusions and mint tea. In short, the finale of a very old malt. Comments: it may have suffered a little after the thunderous Glen Avon, yet it nevertheless emerged with considerable panache.
SGP:561 - 89 points.

House of Hazelwood 47 yo (43.7%, OB, Charles Gordon Collection, blended malt, 137 bottles, 2024)

Prestige bottles, to be kept in the drinks cabinet of your 1980s Bentley. Colour: gold, truly pale given its age. Nose: marvellous on the nose, incredibly fresh, with ripe pineapple, freshly squeezed orange, mango and papaya. It is perfect just so, no need to dig further, despite the magnificent wafts of wild carrots that arrive thereafter. Mouth: I was slightly apprehensive but in truth it is utterly beautiful, with a faint and very elegant varnish, sublime bitters, citrus fruits in exuberant profusion, and fresh praline, the whole displaying not a single trace of fatigue or dryness. Very fine honeys as well. Finish: long, with coconut milk emerging straight from the old wood, gentle tobacco, well-contained bitter almonds and pistachio cream with cherry. Or pistachio-cherry pannacotta, you do know that? Comments: incredible fruitiness at this age. Forget the second-hand Bentley, for the same budget choose three bottles of this Hazelwood, if any are still available.
SGP:651 - 92 points.

We’ll finish with an even older malt. There’s always an older one…

Secret Speyside 49 yo 1975/2025 (43.8%, The Whisky Blues, refill bourbon hogshead, cask #8165, 86 bottles)

Once again, what a label! Generally, these vintages are or were Glenfarclas, yet that remains mere theory. Let us move on to practice… Oh, and we do adore the screw cap, it has become the height of absolute chic. Colour: gold. Nose: sublime fragility, poised between old apples, beeswax, white bread, cider, mead, sake, even fine ladies’ soap… It is most beautiful on the nose, though such a very subtle profile can cause a little concern as regards the palate. Mouth: here we are almost walking the razor’s edge, but slightly on the right side. You see what I mean… Waxed apples, paraffin, herbal infusions, chamomile, verbena, cherry stalks, then the empresses of very old malts left in their natural state: overripe apples. Finish: not especially long yet with astonishing freshness, driven by small citrus fruits, notably bergamot. Magnificent notes of gentle mint tea and orange peel in the aftertaste. Comments: it has resisted the splendid Hazelwood perfectly, and for that alone it deserves an Olympic gold medal in ice dance (with a pronounced wink to all our American friends, whom we love and adore).
SGP:561 - 90 points.

Sorry, no 50-year-old today, but it’ll come, stay tuned…

(Cheers to Absolutely Nuts Spirits)