Teaninich 16 Years Old 2006 Cask #303008 (Elixir)

Single malt Teaninich, selected and bottled by Elixir Distillers, aged 16 year old from 2006, drawn from cask 303008 and bottled at 63.6%. A release of 632 bottles. Teaninich was established in 1817 in Easter Ross, north of Inverness; it is one of Diageo's largest distilleries. Teaninich is Diageo's third largest distillery, and almost all its make goes to blends.

The spirit was made from a mash filter wort for a clean, grassy spirit, for a clean, oily make of real freshness. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. By this age the green spirit rounds into orchard fruit and a waxy depth. Long, gentle ageing turns the cut grass towards honey and soft fruit. The name comes from the Gaelic for house on the hill, a nod to the old estate. By the 1970s Teaninich was already one of the largest distilleries in Scotland.

At a full 63.6% it is intense yet fresh. Sherried dried fruit and a nutty edge come through, and vanilla and a light cream from the barrel runs under a clean, green fruitiness. Soft orchard fruit and grass sit behind the sweetness. It closes clean, grassy and waxy. This is a fresh, oily Highland single malt.