Strathclyde 31 Years Old 1993 Cask #243367 (Lady of the Glen)

Lady of the Glen selected this Strathclyde, a 31 year old from 1993, drawn from cask 243367 and bottled at 54.6%. 145 bottles in all. Strathclyde was built in 1927 in Glasgow, on the Clyde, and it is one of Scotland's largest grain distilleries. It is now part of the Chivas Brothers stable, quietly working by the Clyde.

It was drawn off continuous Coffey stills from a wheat mash, for a delicate spirit that leans on the cask for flavour. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. Past twenty five years the spirit turns oily and dessert sweet while staying clean. Decades in oak build a waxy, polished depth over the clean spirit. The malt distillery Kinclaith lived inside its walls from 1957 until 1975. Single grain releases are rare, almost all of them from independent bottlers. Light grain spirit takes oak readily, so long ageing brings out coconut and toffee.

At cask strength 54.6% it is full bodied. The Oloroso brings dried fruit and a nutty depth over the sweet grain. The texture is oily and buttery, the sweetness coating. A long, oily finish carries a coconut lift. This is a clean, oily single grain of real age.