Strathclyde 31 Years Old (Original Collection)

Cadenhead's selected this Strathclyde, a 31 year old and bottled at 46%. Strathclyde was founded in 1927 by Seager Evans by the Clyde in the Gorbals, and it still makes grain whisky for the big blends. It is now part of the Chivas Brothers stable, quietly working by the Clyde.

The spirit was made in twin Coffey stills, the wash run from wheat, for a clean, sweet grain make of real purity. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, American oak giving coconut and toffee. Beyond twenty five years the grain grows deep and oily, coconut, butterscotch and crème brûlée over polished oak. Decades in oak build a waxy, polished depth over the clean spirit. It is now part of the Chivas Brothers stable, working quietly in the city. Glasgow once held distilleries across the city; today only Strathclyde remains. Aged single grain has become prized for its soft, oily, dessert sweet character. The continuous still gives a clean, high strength spirit that mellows with years.

At an approachable 46% it is soft and balanced. The ex-Bourbon gives vanilla, cream and a dessert sweetness. The texture is oily and buttery, the sweetness coating. The finish is deep, oily and creamy. This is a clean, oily single grain of real age.