Teaninich 12 Years Old 2010 (SMWS 59.72)

A Teaninich single malt, picked by Scotch Malt Whisky Society, aged 12 year old from 2010, drawn from cask 59.72 and bottled at 56.2%. 264 bottles in all. Teaninich was opened in 1817 on the Teaninich estate in Easter Ross, north of Inverness; it is a key malt of Johnnie Walker. 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. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, with vanilla under the grassy spirit. Mid age brings a deeper honey and a riper green fruit. The cool Highland climate gives a slow, even maturation over the years. The Cromarty Firth nearby is one of few UK waters home to bottlenose dolphins. A long fermentation of around 75 hours builds the fresh, fruity notes. Filled spirit is tankered away to mature in Diageo's central warehouses.

At a full 56.2% it is intense yet fresh. Vanilla and a light cream from the barrel runs under green apple, grass and a light honey. It is fresh and clean, the green spirit shining through. The close is fresh, grass over gentle oak. This is a fresh, waxy Highland single malt.