We continue our series on older blends with three more bottlings: a James Martin’s V.V.O. from the 1970s, a Clan Campbell from the early 1960s, and a Langside bottled in the late 1960s or early 1970s. If you have not yet read part one, part two or part three, you can find them through their respective links. Now, let’s see how this new trio performs!
James Martin’s V.V.O (1970s) Review
James Martin’s V.V.O. (‘Very Very Old’) is a blended Scotch whisky created by whisky merchant James Martin in the late 1800s; the brand was acquired in 1912 by Macdonald & Muir Ltd, which later became Glenmorangie PLC, using its own Glenmorangie distillate as a component of the blend. Martin’s has a notable place in whisky history – the brand had 10,000 cases aboard the SS Politician when it wrecked off Eriskay in 1941, an event that inspired the film Whisky Galore. Martin’s original 8-Year-Old V.V.O. was joined over the decades by De Luxe 12-Year-Old and Fine & Rare 20-Year-Old expressions, with the entire range discontinued after LVMH’s 2004 acquisition of Glenmorangie.
This 1970s era, 40% ABV, 75 cl bottling was produced specifically for the Italian importer Riunite Di Liquori. Current collector pricing for these 1970s bottles ranges widely, from around £14 at auction to €150 at an Italian retailer.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: The nose starts with dried apple slices and dried mango, cloves, forest honey, lemon and a couple of rubber bands. It shows a good enough intensity for its ABV. Some vanilla and caramel then arrive as the whisky airs.
Palate:
Neat: Tangy oranges, fructose syrup, a little peppery heat, dusty books, and a slightly sour and fruity character. The mouthfeel shows enough texture and is less thin than you’d expect, but even velvety.
Finish:
The finish is medium in length, with peppercorns, tart orange and a little chalk and pepper.
Comments:
This James Martin’s V.V.O. is a very decent blend, with a nice presence, and hiding the grain components well enough. I have no idea if the components were indeed ‘very, very old’ as they declare, and where it ranged in terms of price at the time, but this is a nice blend.
Rating: 6/10
Clan Campbell The Noble (Early 1960s) Review
Clan Campbell was founded in 1933 by wine merchant Samuel Rosenbloom under the name Forbes McGregor & Co., adopting the Clan Campbell name to capitalise on the clan’s enormous global reach – reportedly claiming over 14 million descendants worldwide. The brand was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 1974 and became France’s top-selling ‘premium whisky’ by 2015 volume under its ownership, with Aberlour and Glenallachie noted as key components, giving it a Speyside-centred character. Pernod-Ricard sold the brand in 2023: its Chivas Brothers subsidiary agreed in June 2023 to sell Clan Campbell to Stock Spirits Group, a Polish-headquartered spirits company, with the acquisition completing on September 5, 2023. Stock Spirits now owns and markets the brand, describing it as one of the leading 12-year-old blended Scotch brands with a strong presence in France, Spain, Luxembourg, and Italy. ‘The Noble’ is Clan Campbell’s flagship blend, historically joined by now-discontinued aged expressions like the 5-Year-Old, 8-Year-Old, ‘Highlander’ 12-Year-Old, and ‘Legendary’ 18-Year-Old.
Vintage bottlings from the 1980s/1990s era – under Pernod-Ricard ownership at the time – show some ABV variation by market and decade: a mid-1980s miniature was bottled at 43%, while a dedicated 1980s presentation tin 5-Year-Old and a 1990s standard 70 cl bottling were both recorded at 40% ABV. It has always been non-age-stated in its standard form, chill-filtered, with added colouring. Current pricing for vintage 1980s/1990s bottles from specialist retailers runs modestly, in the £15–35 range depending on rarity and condition, reflecting its status as an everyday supermarket blend rather than a sought-after collectible. And this still applies nowadays at auction, even for bottlings from 60 years ago.
Colour:
Pale straw.
Nose:
Neat: Very soft, fresh, and sweet, dominated by fresh apple notes. It feels very young and lively, picking up lots of grain character, a touch of vodka-like sharpness, faint vanilla, and some caramel.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is sweet with pronounced wood notes and raw sugar, quickly overtaken by a medium heat, chili-like lightly burning sensation. The mouthfeel is thin, and the palate does not show many distinct aromas.
Finish:
The finish is short, bitter-sweet and woody, cereal, and a touch of caramel.
Comments:
Forgotten as soon as it’s drunk, this Clan Campbell from the past does not have much more to show than the recent one, but at least it lacked excessive plankish notes, so that clearly deserves an additional point compared to its modern counterpart.
Rating: 4/10
Langside Finest Blended Scotch Whisky (end ’60s/early ’70s) Review
Langside is a trading brand owned by the Douglas Laing family of companies, produced under the name Langside Distillers – itself purely a trading name rather than an actual distillery, created after a French customer requested a distinct brand for their market. According to Fred H. Laing, in a company interview, the name was chosen simply because his father regularly drove past the site of the historic Battle of Langside in Glasgow (involving Mary, Queen of Scots) on his commute during the 1950s and 1960s, and thought it made a memorable brand name. Langside sits within Douglas Laing & Co.’s broader portfolio, alongside other historic house brands like McGibbons, King of Scots, and House of Peers. Strangely, full-size bottles do not seem to appear at auction. I’ve checked on a few auction websites without finding one ever going through their auctions.
Colour:
Old gold.
Nose:
Neat: The nose is a little sharp, with flower honey, vanilla, some oak, metallic coins, lemon, cloves and thuja trees, a little acidic. There is also a feint lactic note.
Palate:
Neat: The arrival is sweet, with corn syrup, orchard fruits, creamy vanilla, but also some grainy harshness, bitter wood – plankish even – and cardboard. Pepper, ginger and cloves, milk chocolate and instant coffee.
Finish:
The finish is medium to long, on that instant coffee and hot chocolate, with a creamy feeling persisting on the tongue.
Comments:
Disappointing nose but the palate is okay-ish. But since it seems extremely rare and hard to find, I guess you’ll have to trust my word. Or if you really, really want to try it, I can always sell you the rest of my mini ;).