Teaninich 12 Years Old 2009 Cask #712138 (Global Whisky Limited)

Bottled by Global Whisky Limited, this Teaninich matured to 12 year old from 2009, drawn from cask 712138 and bottled at 53.9%. The outturn was 272 bottles. Teaninich was founded in 1817 by a Napoleonic veteran in Easter Ross, north of Inverness; it uses a mash filter found nowhere else in Scotch. The mash filter gives an ultra clear wort, the source of its fragrant, green tea grassiness.

The spirit was made from a mash filter wort for a clean, grassy spirit, for a clean, oily make of real freshness. A sherry cask wrapped the light spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Around the mid teens the malt gains a fuller, oilier body over the grass. Fat stills give a waxy texture that carries the cask flavour. Almost all of its make is destined for blends rather than single malt. A hammer mill and mash filter, installed in 2000, replaced the traditional mash tun.

Bottled at a cask strength 53.9%, it is rich. Raisin and a nutty sherry depth build, and vanilla and a light cream from the barrel runs under green apple, grass and a light honey. Beneath it run cut grass, citrus and a soft wax. A grassy, gently spiced finish lingers. This is a fresh, waxy Highland single malt.