邓肯泰勒54年Highland Park苏格兰威士忌品鉴：独立装瓶商迄今最古老年份

翻译自David Thomas Tao于2024年10月16日发表于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/

奢华威士忌市场正日益全球化，品牌纷纷致力于吸引比以往更广泛的高端烈酒消费者群体。尽管苏格兰威士忌仍是全球最具声望且历史悠久的收藏类别之一，脱颖而出却变得更加困难——即使是超高年份标示的酒款，也未必能在零售或拍卖中顺利售出。品饮家和收藏家更偏好「首创」类型的酒款，尤其是那些具备超凡标志的产品；如果来自知名酒厂，则更具吸引力。
首款并非由酒厂自行装瓶的最古老Highland Park苏格兰威士忌？这无疑引起了我们的关注。这便是邓肯泰勒「The Accolade」系列的首发酒款：一款陈年54年Highland Park单一麦芽苏格兰威士忌，于1970年蒸馏，装瓶酒精浓度为42.9%。
邓肯泰勒是业界较知名的独立装瓶商之一，其历史可追溯至1938年。这支编号#3254的酒桶几乎从威士忌酿成之初便由邓肯泰勒持有，并在其总部酒窖中熟成至今。经过漫长岁月，这个酒桶最终仅产出158瓶威士忌。
价格方面？一瓶700毫升售价为22,000英镑（美国市场价约为24,655美元，不含增值税）。根据装瓶商的说法，此款威士忌将仅在线上零售商The Spirits Embassy独家销售。
那么这款54年单一麦芽的口感如何呢？幸运的是，我们提前拿到了一个样品来进行品鉴。
在嗅觉上，这款威士忌层次丰富且复杂，细腻的肉豆蔻、丁香和肉桂香料迅速与烤酸面包的香气交融。随着时间的推移，轻微的热带水果香气渐渐展现，还带有一丝香烛般的烟熏味。
第一口品尝时口感略为粘稠，带有蜂蜡般的质感和蜜糖糖浆的痕迹。橡木和黑醋栗的风味在中段同时袭来，这种单宁与水果的组合为威士忌的基础风味奠定了基调。接着出现一系列泥土、潮湿和苔藓的风味，伴随着几乎无法察觉的海风咸味。最终，这款威士忌在橡木的风味上更加突出，矿物质风味稍微不如我之前品尝过的其他超熟成Highland Park威士忌，但实际上，风味特征之间仍有相当大的重叠；尽管在熟成环境上与酒厂自身的酒款有所不同，但这款威士忌彻底体现了老Highland Park的风味。
我常常认为，当威士忌陈酿超过25或30年后，泥煤威士忌的烟熏风味往往会淡出背景，而明亮的水果风味则成为主角。值得注意的是，即使在这款威士忌经过超过半个世纪的熟成后，我仍然能感受到一些微妙的泥煤烟味。与嗅觉相同，它的烟熏香气先是带有香烛的特征，然后在口腔后段转变为凉爽的冬青味。收尾部分则倾向于甜薄荷的味道，与持续而略微干燥的木质单宁形成良好的平衡。
对于在年龄、价格和可收藏性这个交会点上的烈酒，评估其价值最好的方法可能是从个体层面进行评估。 （可以说，一整瓶的价格对我来说可能超出预算！）就我个人而言，我确实希望至少能有一些这些瓶子被开瓶、分享和饮用。对我来说，否则真正的意义何在呢？

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?