A faint blast from the past that fails to impress. Unless kept well, old miniatures can fade. This is probably a shadow of its former self.
⭐⭐⭐
Distillery: Blended: Inver House own/owned Balblair, Old Pulteney, An Cnoc, Balmenach, Speyburn, Glenflagler (closed), Killyloch (Closed), and Garnheath (Grain, also closed).
Region: Mixed
Bottler: Inver House
Age: No Age Statement (NAS); likely around the minimum 3 years old.
Bottle: 1 & 2/3 fluid ounce miniature (approx 50ml).
Number of bottles: Mass produced.
ABV: Stated at 70 proof (40% ABV)
Cask type: Not stated
Filtered/coloured: Not stated
Sample date: Thu 7th/Sun 10th Oct 2021
Region: Blended highland, lowland, and maybe a little speyside
Peated/unpeated: Unpeated/undetectable. If this contains some of the "lightly peated" Killyloch, it's well hidden.
Cost: This sample: £1 as part of an auction lot.
Availability: Discontinued. Can be picked up at auction as miniatures and full bottles £30-40.
Inver House Green Plaid is one of their "Rare Blends" range, along with the 8 year old Red Plaid (created for the US market) and the 12 and 21 year old Green Plaid expressions.
I bought this in an online auction as part of a lot of several miniatures. If you go to the right places, you can find bargains like this—and the opportunity to try old blends. You may even find some old single malts hidden among the lots. I picked up fifty miniatures, hiding a dozen single malts (including old Royal Lochnagar, Tamnavulin, Tomintoul, Edradour, Cragganmore, Jura, and others). All of this for a little over £40. That's less than £1 per miniature. I'm not going to tell you which auction is best for this!
The code on the bottom of the bottle (S-AA53S-64/UG), says this was made by United Glass ("UG" in a hexagon), in their Sherdley factory (the "S" on the left) . The "64" on the right may mean it was made in 1964, or it may not. I don't know enough about the bottle marks to say for sure. If you know, please comment below. The fact that the alcohol is stated as "70 proof" instead of 40% ABV makes it a pre-1980 bottling. So I'm going to say this was probably bottled somewhere between 1964 and 1979. The grain whisky used in Green Plaid would be from Garnheath, which ran from 1965 to 1986.
Tasting notes
I split this over two tastings with 3 days in between to let it breath (having been in the bottle for 40 years).
Eye
Pale gold colour. Thin consistency. Not much legs. Unremarkable.
Nose
Light on the nose with almonds at the front and light honey behind. Reminiscent of Vat 69 profile, but more muted. A few minutes later, once it has had a chance to breath, a little oak appears, bringing barley and a hint of sherry. Apple sits squarely in the middle and grain whisky is the background canvas. There's a faint nuttiness behind the apple—like walnut skins. After a little water, the oak expands, along with more apple and some orange pith.
SCORE: 18/25
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Taste
The oak comes first, then rough grain, followed by the taste of cooking apples before a second wave of oak. After water comes some all-spice and a hint of potpourri.
SCORE: 16/25
⭐⭐⭐
Finish
Short sweetness alongside something chunky and a bit bitter, like bark, which is OK. Longer pepper on the back of the palette, with a cough medicine tang that sticks around for a while. Reminds me of medicine as a child. Not necessarily a bad thing.
SCORE: 15/25
⭐⭐⭐
Last breath
Leave a drained whisky glass for an hour or so and the last drop evaporates to reveal something that might not have been previously detectable. I call it the "last breath". In the case of Green Plaid, it's a strong toffee/caramel with a bit of oak underneath it. Next time you have an evening dram, don't wash the glass. Leave it on a shelf and give it a sniff in the morning. With the alcohol all gone, you'll almost always get a pleasant aroma.
Overall
Revisiting this after 3 days for the second half, nothing much has changed after a bit of air. It's still somewhat flat and dull. Maybe this has been kept on a shelf in sunlight—which has dulled the flavour. Ultra-violet light reacts with complex compounds in whisky, causing them to break up into other smaller compounds—some of which can taste unpleasant. There's no bad taste here, it's just flat. It's a green glass bottle, which may mean sunlight has a different effect on the liquid (versus white glass). It's difficult to say. The label ink doesn't look bleached when compared to the other mini from another auction bundle (probably another seller). I will open the other mini at a later date to see if it's different.
Maybe I'm overthinking what is a drinkable but plain dram. Maybe my expectations were too high. Can a £1 miniature cast you back in time to experience a flavour profile that modern distilleries no longer produce? Nope. If that was the case, old blend miniatures wouldn't be so easy to come by.
Generally light and very pleasant on the nose. It smells better than it tastes and tastes better than it finishes. It's a bit on the flat side. Perfectly drinkable but uninspiring. Too much grain and young malt. Although I only paid around £1 for this, I expected more. I would be interested to try the 8 year old Red Plaid and the 12 & 21 year old Green Plaid expressions which might have more to say. Again, I can't be sure this bottle hasn't been tainted by sun exposure, so maybe I'm being unfair on the spirit.
SCORE: 16/25
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Final verdict
Drinkable but mediocre. There are still plenty of these to be found, and bargains to be had.
TOTAL: 65/100
⭐⭐⭐
Other drams from Inver House:
Single malts: Balblair, Balmenach, Knockdhu, Old Pulteney, Speyburn.
Blends: Hankey Bannister, Catto's, Macarthur, Pinwinnie.
TO BE CONTINUED
I have another Inver House Green Plaid miniature which I will probably open soon to compare. Curiously, the other one has the "P" on the base, indicating it was made at a different United Glass factory. It came in a different auction lot, so if the first one was tainted by sunlight exposure, this should have a different nose and taste. I will append the tasting notes here when I get round to it.
UPDATE:
A few days ago I opened the other miniature. It was world's apart. Much richer, with notable sherry influence. Very nice. Proof that whisky must be kept well. In the light of this, the review above seems a little unfair, so it should be taken as a review of a spoiled whisky, not the whisky as it should be. I would rate the second (unspoiled) dram at least 10 points higher out of 100, putting it around 75+/100. (18th March 2023)