36 year old scotch

[brewmasterash]

Okay, so my buddy and his kids are moving his MIL into a new home. His son brings him a bottle and low-and-behold it is an unopened bottle of J&B scotch. There is a sticker on the bottle that says 'purchase date October 12, 1971'. He asks me about it because he knows I brew beer and thinks I may have some insight.

Now, I approach this as if it were beer. I ask him if the level of liquid in the bottle appears normal, or if it looks like some has evaporated, thinking that oxidation would be enemy #1. He says it looks normal. Now we have a trip coming up to watch the Orioles get swept by the Bosox and he is bringin' the scotch.

I ask any of you that may be experienced in this sort of thing...

HOW THE HELL WILL THIS TASTE???

I apologize for posting about something other than beer, but I am hopeful that someone here has some experience in this kind of thing.

Thanks,
Ash

[Old CW4]

Brewmaster,

Oct 71 was just a few months after I left good ol' Vietnam and we older guys there drank LOTS of J&B.

To answer your question, it should taste smooth as silk.

However, you might sample the waters on EBay or whatever and see how much someone would pay for a 36 year old, unopened bottle of J&B.....?

Either way, enjoy!

[brewmasterash]

Thanks CW. That is the first thing I told my buddy(EBay). But he is adamant that it comes with us. Good for us I guess!

BTW, I was born in ,71. Another reason he wants us to have it.

[Otis_The_Drunk]

JB is ok as far as Scotch goes....
Look into Glenfiddich, Drumguish, Ardmore, Balblair if you want smooth.

They will cost you, but they are well worth it.

[zoom6zoom]

Scotch really doesn't age once it's bottled

[wild]

Originally posted by zoom6zoom
Scotch really doesn't age once it's bottled

This is what I was told. But it still didn't keep me from enjoying a 25 year old bottle of Chivas.

Wild

[Otis_The_Drunk]

Personally I like Glenfiddich.

http://www.glenfiddich.com/lda.html?redirect=/index.html

I've had their 30 year old scotch once, there are not enough "O"s in the word smooth to describe how good this Whiskey is.

[Mad Scientist]

My fathe in law bought a house that was at one time a liquor store. He found a bunch of low fills and stuff that did not sell in a locked out-building, including some scotch. He gave me two pint bottles of blended scotch, both with tax stamps still on the caps--from 1974. They were awesome.....

[xtalman]

A couple of you are confusing single malts with blends. J&B is a blend and as long as seal of the bottle is intact is should be fine. I would suspect is may have mellowed abit in the bottle. Just sit back relax and enjoy.

[brewmasterash]

Yeah, we were aware we were dealing with a blended scotch. And that J&B isn't perhaps the highest quality scotch. I was just hoping that it would be drinkable. I think the consensus is that it will be pretty darn good. I can't wait. Thanks for the replies, all of you. I will report the review.

Ash

[Fir Na Tine]

It'll be drinkable, no doubt in my mind.
I had a bottle of gin from 1968 that was still drinkable when I finally opened in the mid 90's.

[HogieWan]

the whiskey would definitely not go bad. Whiskey doesn't change as much in the bottle as in the cask, but it will still change.

Also, just because it's blended doesn't make it inferior - I've had some bad singles and I really like Johnny Walker (the blue label is another reason to run out of Os).

[xtalman]

Originally posted by HogieWan

Also, just because it's blended doesn't make it inferior - I've had some bad singles and I really like Johnny Walker (the blue label is another reason to run out of Os).

There are some very excellent blends out there, Chivas, Pinch, Johnny Walker to name a few. J&B, while not what most would consider world class, is a very solid drinkable blend that can be had at a reasonable price. As with most things there are good and bad versions of everything. I have had both blends and singles that really should have been sold as paint thinner. :D

[fatboy570]

If youre that concerned, send it to me and I will drink it all-oops I mean taste it for you