鄧肯泰勒54年Highland Park蘇格蘭威士忌品鑑：獨立裝瓶商迄今最古老年份

翻譯自David Thomas Tao於2024年10月16日發表於Forbes的文章
https://www.forbes.com/sites/david-tao/2024/10/16/we-tried-duncan-taylors-54-year-old-highland-park-oldest-ever-from-an-independent-bottler/

奢華威士忌市場正日益全球化，品牌紛紛致力於吸引比以往更廣泛的高端烈酒消費者群體。儘管蘇格蘭威士忌仍是全球最具聲望且歷史悠久的收藏類別之一，脫穎而出卻變得更加困難——即使是超高年份標示的酒款，也未必能在零售或拍賣中順利售出。品飲家和收藏家更偏好「首創」類型的酒款，尤其是那些具備超凡標誌的產品；如果來自知名酒廠，則更具吸引力。
首款並非由酒廠自行裝瓶的最古老Highland Park蘇格蘭威士忌？這無疑引起了我們的關注。這便是鄧肯泰勒「The Accolade」系列的首發酒款：一款陳年54年Highland Park單一麥芽蘇格蘭威士忌，於1970年蒸餾，裝瓶酒精濃度為42.9%。
鄧肯泰勒是業界較知名的獨立裝瓶商之一，其歷史可追溯至1938年。這支編號#3254的酒桶幾乎從威士忌釀成之初便由鄧肯泰勒持有，並在其總部酒窖中熟成至今。經過漫長歲月，這個酒桶最終僅產出158瓶威士忌。
價格方面？一瓶700毫升售價為22,000英鎊（美國市場價約為24,655美元，不含增值稅）。根據裝瓶商的說法，此款威士忌將僅在線上零售商The Spirits Embassy獨家銷售。
那麼這款54年單一麥芽的口感如何呢？幸運的是，我們提前拿到了一個樣品來進行品鑑。
在嗅覺上，這款威士忌層次豐富且複雜，細膩的肉豆蔻、丁香和肉桂香料迅速與烤酸麵包的香氣交融。隨著時間的推移，輕微的熱帶水果香氣漸漸展現，還帶有一絲香燭般的煙燻味。
第一口品嘗時口感略為粘稠，帶有蜂蠟般的質感和蜜糖糖漿的痕跡。橡木和黑醋栗的風味在中段同時襲來，這種單寧與水果的組合為威士忌的基礎風味奠定了基調。接著出現一系列泥土、潮濕和苔蘚的風味，伴隨著幾乎無法察覺的海風鹹味。最終，這款威士忌在橡木的風味上更加突出，礦物質風味稍微不如我之前品嘗過的其他超熟成Highland Park威士忌，但實際上，風味特徵之間仍有相當大的重疊；儘管在熟成環境上與酒廠自身的酒款有所不同，但這款威士忌徹底體現了老Highland Park的風味。
我常常認為，當威士忌陳釀超過25或30年後，泥煤威士忌的煙燻風味往往會淡出背景，而明亮的水果風味則成為主角。值得注意的是，即使在這款威士忌經過超過半個世紀的熟成後，我仍然能感受到一些微妙的泥煤煙味。與嗅覺相同，它的煙燻香氣先是帶有香燭的特徵，然後在口腔後段轉變為涼爽的冬青味。收尾部分則傾向於甜薄荷的味道，與持續而略微乾燥的木質單寧形成良好的平衡。
對於在年齡、價格和可收藏性這個交會點上的烈酒，評估其價值最好的方法可能是從個體層面進行評估。（可以說，一整瓶的價格對我來說可能超出預算！）就我個人而言，我確實希望至少能有一些這些瓶子被開瓶、分享和飲用。對我來說，否則真正的意義何在呢？

The luxury whisky market is increasingly global, with brands trying to appeal to a wider-than-ever consumer base for high-end spirits. While Scotch remains one of the world’s most prestigious and established collector categories, it’s perhaps tougher than ever to stand out — even an ultra-high age statement isn’t always enough to move expensive bottles at retail or auction. Drinkers and collectors are biased toward “first of their kind” releases with superlative designations; bonus points if they come from storied producers.
The oldest-ever Highland Park Scotch to not be bottled by the distillery itself? That got our attention. Cue the first release in The Duncan Taylor’s “The Accolade” series: a 54-year-old Highland Park Single Malt Scotch, distilled in 1970 and bottled at 42.9% alcohol by volume.
Independent bottler Duncan Taylor is one of the more established “IBs” on the scene, with a pedigree dating back to 1938. Duncan Taylor has owned this cask — #3254 — for virtually its full life cycle, the whisky aging that entire time in the bottler’s HQ vault. After all that time, the cask yielded just 158 bottles.
The price tag? A cool £22,000 for a 700 mL bottle (about $24,655 for US-based consumers, which excludes value-added tax). According to the bottler, this release will be sold exclusively through online retailer The Spirits Embassy.
But how does this 54-year-old single malt taste? Fortunately, we got an early sample to assess.
On the nose, it’s layered and complex, with delicate nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon spice quickly meeting toasted sourdough bread. Light tropical fruit develops with more time, along with a wisp of incense-forward smoke.
The first sip is mildly viscous, with a beeswax-like quality and traces of honey syrup. Oak and blackcurrant hit simultaneously on the midpalate, a tannic-and-fruity combo that forms the whisky’s flavor base on additional sips. A series of earthen, damp, mossy flavors come next, paired with barely-there ocean breeze salinity. It’s ultimately more oak-forward with slightly less minerality than some other ultra-aged Highland Park distillate I’ve had, though in truth, there’s quite a bit of overlap in flavor profile; despite a different aging environment than the distillery’s own, this tastes like old Highland Park, through and through.
I’ve often thought that, past the 25 or 30 year point, the smoke character of peated whisky tends to fade into the background as bright fruit takes center stage. Notably, I still sense some subtle peat smoke here, even after more than a half-century in wood. As with the nose, it’s incense-forward, then transitions to cooling wintergreen by the back of the palate. The finish itself leans into sweet mint, which balances well with a continued and slightly drying current of wood tannins.
For spirits at this nexus of age, price, and collectability, assessing value is probably best done at the individual level. (Suffice it to say a full bottle is likely out of my price range!) On a personal level, I do hope at least some of these bottles are opened, shared, and enjoyed. To my mind, what’s the real point otherwise?