Speyburn Single Cask Distillery Exclusive (2012/2023)

Speyburn Distillery post-tour masterclass, May 2nd, 2024, whisky #4 Nose: Strong notes of ale, malt, toffee, fudge, and vanilla. This aroma is bold and pronounced. Palate: A soft and creamy initial taste focused on malt and dried fruits. Buttery vanilla emerges as it develops, leading to a very sweet profile with highlighted notes of coconut, peanut brittle, and caramel. These flavors are balanced by the astringency of ginger and walnut skin. The texture is creamy. Finish: Medium length. The sweetness fades, giving way to oak, green apple skins, and weak black tea. This was a single-cask release exclusive to the distillery shop, with no added color or chill-filtration, aged entirely in one ex-bourbon barrel (distillery cask #438). The cask was filled in 2012 and bottled in 2023, yielding 264 bottles. Our tasting was from bottle #117. Overall, it was a distinctively malty whisky, not the most subtle I've encountered but possessing immense vitality and presence. While the bottle doesn't state the age (besides distillation and bottling years), we were informed it was 10 years old, and the profile certainly suggested Speyburn’s 10-year-old core expression amplified significantly. "Good": 83/100 (3.5 stars)