Speyburn Spirit of Speyside Exclusive (2004/2024)

Speyburn Distillery post-tour masterclass, May 2nd, 2024, whisky #5 Nose: Sherry, dried figs, dried dates, raisins, boiled Christmas pudding. A hint of furniture varnish and aged oak. Palate: Dark fruit, sherry, orange marmalade, oak. Not much else develops later or with more sips – it’s a fairly standard sherried palate. The texture is waxy rather than creamy or oily, and there was a walnut-skin tannic dryness. Finish: Medium. Dark fruits, sherry, dark chocolate, oak. This was distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2024 after aging in one ex-sherry cask (distillery cask 215) for 19 years. 546 bottles were produced and our tasting was from bottle 513. This bottling was a distillery-only exclusive single-cask expression for the 2024 Spirit of Speyside Festival. It was a pleasant whiskey, clean and well sherried with a lovely dark, natural color. Overall, I’d say it was better than average, but while nothing was specifically wrong with it, it lacked character, depth, and length, so I had no reason to buy it – especially for £180. “Above Average” 82/100 (3.25 stars)