Review: New Zealand’s 1987 Single Malt Whisky (24 years Old)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 7, 2013

SAM_0727 New Zealand's 1987 Single Malt Whisky My reviews of the New Zealand Whisky Collection continue with the New Zealand’s 1987 Single Malt Whisky (40 % ABV). The now closed distillery at Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand once produced both Single Malt and blended whisky. After the distillery’s closure, about 600 barrels of single malt and blended grain whisky remained and were left to mature. Two years ago (in 2011), Mr Greg Ramsey, an Australian whisky enthusiast from Tasmania, bought those barrels and set about bottling the whisky as part of a plan to revive the New Zealand whisky industry. As part of that plan, he created the New Zealand Whisky Collection.

New Zealand’s 1987 Single Malt Whisky was produced from Single Malt stocks which were distilled in 1987 at the Dunedin Distillery and then left to age for 24 years. The Whisky was bottled in two formats; 750 ml bottles were captured at Cask Strength, with the alcohol by volume varying depending upon the casks selected (anywhere from 49-60%), and smaller 150 ml flasks were bottled at 40% alcohol by volume. Both formats of this whisky are currently available in Ontario, Canada through the LCBO (and may soon be available here in Alberta as well).

You may click on the excerpt to read my review: