Maybe in 30 years’ time there will be a generation that looks back on the films of today with the same rose-tinted glasses with which I view The Karate Kid, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Top Gun. But equally, there are some modern-day films that have challenged my perspective: the incredibly emotive 1917 the funny, witty and excellently observed Parasite and the Guy Ritchie flick The Gentlemen, which owes more to Ealing Comedies than to special effects. The Christmas break allowed me to reminisce about a more simple time, when Scotch tasted of Scotch, and movies were simple, and heart-warming. Maybe it’s my rose-tinted glasses, but these whiskies – and movies – seem easier to consume. And just like those movies from the 1980s, there’ s something reassuring about them.
It’s different from today’s bombastic flavours that we find in some of the high-strength, sherry-matured (or sometimes aggressively sherry-finished) malts. There’ s something about the overall style of the whisky that is just… vintage. But it’s not just the extra age that gives these bottles their appeal. Those still in the industry will recall that many of the bottles from the period that carry an age statement had much older whisky in them than advertised on the label, and the result comes through in the liquid. As a consequence, the blenders of the day had a large selection of well-matured spirit to draw from, and the resulting whiskies are delicious. The ’80s was an odd time for the Scotch industry, which was suffering from a drop in demand ( vodka was the spirit of choice), coupled with overproduction in the 1970s, leading to distillery closures and a much-touted ‘Scotch loch’ maturing away in warehouses across the country. Over the past couple of years, I’ve purchased a few bottles of spirits from the 1980s – including some of the best Scotch whiskies – at auction, and, over the Christmas break, I found the same qualities of unvarnished purity in these.
My nostalgia trip didn’t stop at the movies, though.