Edradour Straight from the Cask 10 Years Old 2009

Edradour from the distillery, a 10 year old, from 2009, cask 380, at 56.7%, 952 bottles in all. Edradour is a Highland single malt distilled in a pocket glen near Pitlochry since 1825. For years its sign read Scotland's smallest distillery; it now calls itself Scotland's little gem.

It was distilled from unpeated malt in tiny copper stills and worm tubs, for the rich, oily make Edradour is known for. Maturation came in an Oloroso cask, layered over the rich Edradour make. In integration lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the malt, the nutty chocolate deepening. The worm tubs leave an oily weight that carries through the years in cask. The full bodied spirit shows the cask clearly, the sherry and oak to the fore. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit. A rare Morton refrigerator still cools the wort, one of the last in use in Scotland.

At its natural 56.7% it is rich and full bodied. Dried fruit, fig and a creamy vanilla, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a gentle spice lift it. The close is oily and warming, fruit over a gentle oak. This is Edradour's full bodied, sherried Highland style.