Bunnahabhain 32 yo 1990/2022 'New Acquaintance' (49.2%, OB, Canasta cream sherry casks and new oak cask finish, 318 bottles)
Cream sherry and new oak finish sounds a little scary, but we fear nothing*... Colour: deep gold. Nose: it's not quite pina colada territory, but it has a lot of banana foam sweeties, coconut, pineapple juice and hints of cupboard spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, quite a few things that feel like they come from the wood, although the net effect is not necessarily 'too woody'. I like it, in other words. Further aromas of creme caramel, white chocolate and a dollop of pistachio ice cream. Mouth: a creamy and spicy arrival, where the wood certainly comes to the fore more assertively. Vanilla cream, green tea with lemon, spiced custard, sawn hardwoods, a little dried mint and some slightly vinous sherry characteristics. I'm not too convinced to be honest. Finish: decent length and the Bunna distillery character of salty peanuts, honey and slightly coastal and green fruity qualities come back into play, which rescues things well enough. Comments: I don't think the effects of these various woods have quite gelled with the spirit in this case, I enjoy the nose and the finish more than the palate. Now, other whisky folk seem to rate this higher, so please take my two cents with a fistful of salt. 
SGP:651 - 81 points.

Bunnahabhain 1974/1984 (58.0%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #10.1)
The first SMWS Bunna! There are many very fun wee gems sheltered in these early SMWS bottlings, most of them pure distillate driven rocket fuel. We already had SMWS 10.7 during lockdown and rated it very highly (WF90), so let's see how this even younger sibling performs... Colour: white wine. Nose: petrol, lemongrass, wet rocks of all suggestive types, your mind fills with ideas of granite, flint, chalk and limestone! Also mineral salts, Bakelite, stock cubes and animal fats. As with so many of these older era distillates, it's really all about texture. With water: becomes very fresh, peppery, grassy and with a brighter mineral profile emerging. Like some excellent old dry Riesling. I'd add a few wee notes of lemon powder and laundered fabrics. Mouth: austere, petrolic, mineral and waxy with cooking oils, sheep wool, coastal 'vibes' and wee hints of things like mustard powder and sandalwood. With water: not quite the same impressive development as on the nose, still rather cruising along this austere, mineral and petrolic profile. Finish: medium, sharp, saline and with more of these gravelly, flinty, austere qualities. Comments: excellent distillate, recalls some of the later Cadenhead Authentic Collection bottlings with these austere and petrolic character. Probably a tad brutal and simple to go above 90, but it's still an excellent window into some older style, fatter distillate. Not hard to see how this liquid could stand many more years of maturation and still retain great integrity and charisma. 
SGP: 361 - 87 points.

Glenfarclas 1979/2014 (50.8%, OB 'Family Cask' for The Bow Bar and Shinanoya, plain hogshead, cask #8801, 212 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: almond oil, blossom, sponge cake infused with citrus syrups, acacia honey and flower nectars. A glorious sense of brightness and freshness about this one, also a delicate herbal tea note too. With water: dried mango, banana chips and unlit cigars. Mouth: the perfect balance of maturity and freshness. Beautiful variations on honeys, pollens, flowers, cedar wood, citrus jams and dessert wines, but also with a nice bite of spice and a tiny nip of an acidity. With water: mandarin liqueur, lemon icing, bitter orange marmalade with spices, more unlit cigar vibes, soft waxes and some earthier impressions. Finish: medium, focussed on more of these citrus and particularly orange qualities, some tea tree oil, dried herbs and olive oil. Comments: extremely charming and finely detailed old Farclas. These late 70s vintages could be really great sometimes, even if they tended to be overshadowed by the more dominant early 70s bottlings. 
SGP: 651 - 89 points.

Glenfarclas 1978/1992 (54.7%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #1.32)
Colour: bright mahogany. Nose: fresh, fruity, black coffee joined by fig and damson jams, prunes in Armagnac and very lovely, lean earthy and tobacco combination. A superbly classy old school sherry profile! With water: rather glorious development, towards many types of honey, plum wine, old dried out sauternes, vieille prune, miso and candied orange peel. Mouth: It really makes you think of some top-quality old Fins Bois cognac, with these flower nectars, rich seams of earthy and tobacco notes, cedar wood and underlying impressions of dark honey. Wonderfully bright, deep and perfectly balanced sherry influence. With water: gets a tad drier, leaner and more precisely around earth, tobaccos, bitter chocolate, Maggi, herbal bitters and sorrel. Finish: long, earthy, bitter lemon notes coming through, clove, wintergreen, aniseed and some rich, ruby ale notes. Comments: terrific and compelling old sherry bomb Glenfarclas. Another under the radar old gem from the Society. 
SGP: 562 - 91 points.

Macallan 1962 (80 proof, OB Campbell, Hope & King, Rinaldi Import 1970s)
A famous bottling of a famous distillery from a famous series by a famous old bottler. At least, 'famous' amongst us highly cliquey niche of whisky geeks that is. Colour: amber. Nose: indeed, worthy of its reputation if this nose is anything to go by. An immediate similarity to that 1978 Glenfarclas with this impeccable sherry profile, however, what this has in addition is a stunning dimension of fruitiness. Exotic and dried dark fruits together with a bountiful array of honeys, medicinal herbal notes, dried mushrooms, dessert wines, old liqueurs of the honey and herbal varietals - in short: one of those noses that just about has it all. Mouth: some faded notes of facecream and tiny ideas of soapiness, but they're fleeting and what quickly comes to dominate are the excessive rancio, earthy and dried exotic fruit characteristics. Also tiny notes of coal smoke, dried tarragon, passion fruit juice and balancing umami characteristics. Finish: long, glowing with honey, more exotic and plummy dark fruit notes and assorted teas and liqueur characteristics re-emerging. Comments: amazing, as expected, despite the tiny wobbly on the palate. The nose in particular is pretty breathtaking. 
SGP: 652 - 93 points.

Macallan 1974/1985 (58.8%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #24.1)
Very cool to be trying the first ever Macallan by SMWS, even if we anticipate that it may struggle slightly after the effortless swagger of the 1962! Colour: pale gold. Nose: in a funny way, it's not dissimilar to the Bunna 10.1 we had earlier, in that it's all about pure distillate and texture, these early SMWS bottlings really had something of a 'house style' about them. But this is altogether richer and more emphatic, bringing in more definite honeyed qualities, barley sugar, mint, tea tree oil, eucalyptus, flapjack full of dried fruit, buttercup and some nice hints of plasticine and wax. With water: soda bread, white stout beer, dandelion, ink and more plasticine. Mouth: superb power and great waxy, oily texture. Mineral qualities but well-balanced by a lot of flower honey, some jasmine tea, white flowers, shilling ales, breakfast cereals dusted with icing sugar, lemon barley water and even some slightly funky cider apple notes. Extremely entertaining, with just the right amount of natural sweetness to balance these very fatty and dominating distillate qualities. With water: still superbly fat and textural, more waxes, oils and ointment notes emerging. A glimmer of honey and barley sweetness is deftly retained. Finish: good length, drying, with crystalised honey and peppery watercress. Comments: not hard to see why such broad-shouldered distillate would not only withstand, but flourish in good sherry casks over many years. Always a great pleasure to try old Macallan 'au naturel', and of course to tick of this wonderful wee historical bottling. 
SGP: 462 - 89 points.