Glen Deveron 30 yo GB 75cl 40%

Description

There’s a common belief that once bottled, whisky is completely inert. To some degree that’s true – certainly if your bottle is still sealed and stored in optimum conditions. However, once your bottle is open, it is likely to change slowly over time, especially if the level of oxygen in contact with the spirit is quite high. I.E. your bottle is fairly empty. This isn’t a continuation of maturation, that’s all done and dusted before you purchase your whisky, but it is both a reductive and oxidative process, both of which can markedly change the tenor and structure of your whisky over time.

Today’s review of Glen Deveron 30 year old brings you one such example where I’ve found that a bottle which I’ve had opened (but stored well) has undergone some notable changes. Whilst in many instances you’ll probably find that oxidative changes are not too desirable (unless you’re talking about resting your poured glass for a short time), in this case they’ve improved the contents of the bottle dramatically.

Glen Deveron 30 year old is part of the Macduff Distillery’s ‘Royal Burgh Collection’ – Three travel retail expressions (16, 20 and 30 years of age) all bottled at 40% and available at an airport near you. I picked up the 30 year old at auction a few years ago – the price was to my mind too good to pass on for a 30 year old whisky, and greatly below the RRP. Speaking of which – when launched in May 2013 the Glen Deveron 30 year old was priced at £150. As of this morning, it’s available from Heathrow World of Whiskies for £310 – who says price escalation is being over exaggerated?

When said bottle arrived, it wasn’t look before it was cracked open for sampling. Cue rather large disappointment. I found nose to be incredibly reticent and unremarkable, the palate to be very thin and quite wishy washy, and the finish all too short. Not what I was hoping for from a 30 year old whisky, despite what I paid for it. So, over the course of the next 6 months I hacked away at the bottle on occasion until around 1/3 remained. Then It went back up on a shelf and I forgot about it…..for nearly a year.

I brought the bottle down last night ready to write up what I thought would be a somewhat scathing review of an overpriced and unremarkable 30 year old travel retail expression. Only, this was not the same whisky I’d drank 2/3 of a bottle of last year. It has changed. Quite dramatically. For the better.