This distillery’s first-ever release of a 45-year-old Single Malt Scotch whisky, aged for over four decades and then finished in ice-fractured casks. This is the finale to an adventurous series of wild-whisky experiments - the third and last of the Xpedition Oak Series, a collection of rare, high-aged Single Malt whiskies.

Twelve heavily charred American Oak casks were taken on a Glacial Voyage into Canadian ice fields and exposed to sub-zero temperatures and raw, biting Arctic winds. The increased surface area available for the whisky to interact with the wood, during the finishing period, enabled the whisky to travel deeper into the casks and obtain spicier & sweeter aromas from the American Oak ex Bourbon barrels, to unearths new, resilient depths of this distilleries character

Nose: Rich, dry and mellow, with a light peppery prickle. Clear maritime top notes speak of seaweed and iodine; their glacial mineral companions suggest slaked lime and salt crystals. Below, complex sweet aromas hint at dried fruits and creamy vanilla, bringing depth and richness. Light smoke threads the background, touched by aromatic sandalwood. A drop of water adds a trace of almond toffee: the other aromas remain, joined by a note of hemp rope.

Palate: The texture is wondrously oil-smooth and mouth-filling; the taste starts toffee-sweet then becomes mouth-wateringly salty and increasingly peppery; even at this age there is a striking intensity to it, and a fine chili ‘catch’. A dash of water integrates these tastes. An attractive saltiness to the toffee now suggests salted caramels, with slightly less pepper.

Finish: Very long, with aglorious chili pepper effectand a trace of candle-wax;this grows in the aftertaste,in which both saltiness andpepper also persist. Saltierif water is added, with less pepper and faint scented smoke.