Caledonian 1987 3W (3006 Whisky (3W))

Caledonian, the Cally, was a grain distillery near Haymarket in Edinburgh, built in 1855 and once the largest distillery in Scotland. Its light, sweet grain whisky went almost entirely into blends, and it was rarely bottled as a single grain in its lifetime. Since the distillery closed in 1988, independent bottlers like 3006 Whisky have released the few remaining casks; this one was distilled in 1987, among the last years of production.

The spirit was distilled continuously in a Coffey still on Union Canal water, drawn off light and clean for blending. Twenty nine years in ex-Bourbon oak turned that light grain deep and oily, the American oak lending coconut and vanilla over the decades. It is bottled at its natural cask strength of 53.3 percent, without chill filtration or colour.

At cask strength it is full and sweet, coconut, vanilla and toffee popcorn over a soft, oily body, with a honeyed grilled pineapple note and a creamy, lingering finish. A characterful old single grain from a distillery that fell silent in 1988, its stock finite and never to be made again. Grain whisky of this age is prized for the way light spirit and active oak meet over the decades, the wood giving most of the flavour.