Edradour SFTC – Madeira Cask Matured 10 Years Old 2006 (59.9%)

Edradour from the distillery, a 10 year old, from 2006, cask 219, at 59.9%, 447 bottles in all. Edradour is a Highland single malt from the tiny farm distillery at Pitlochry, long called Scotland's smallest. For years its sign read Scotland's smallest distillery; it now calls itself Scotland's little gem.

It was worked through Oregon pine washbacks and tiny stills for a rich, oily spirit, for a full, oily make of dried fruit and chocolate. It was matured in a Madeira cask, the wood working slowly into the rich malt. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the oily malt, the body fuller and creamier. A small distillery and a hands on approach shape every cask by hand. It keeps the old ways, with an open cast iron mash tun, Oregon pine washbacks and worm tub condensers. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit.

Bottled at a cask strength 59.9%, it is rich. A full, fruity sweetness, with a nutty, raisined sweetness from the cask. Fig, nut and a creamy malt fill the middle. A rich finish ends on dried fruit and a soft oak. This is Edradour, one of Scotland's smallest distilleries.