Fettercairn 13 Years Old 2008 McCrae’s (Langside Distillers)

A 13 year old Fettercairn from the bottler Langside Distillers, distilled in 2008, bottled at 56.9%, one of 250 bottles. Fettercairn is a Highland single malt whose tropical character comes from water cooled stills. The cooling rings raise reflux and copper contact, so only the lightest vapours rise, for a tropical spirit.

It was distilled from unpeated malt in stills cooled by their copper rings, giving the light, pineapple led Highland spirit. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the tropical fruit. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into a rounded vanilla as ethyl esters lend a riper pineapple and pear. The water cooled stills give a light spirit that ages with grace. Maturation on site in the Fettercairn dunnage warehouses is slow and steady. The cooling rings give a light spirit, so the cask brings depth over the years.

At its natural 56.9% it is concentrated. Pineapple, pear and a creamy vanilla, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked pineapple and a gentle spice lift it. The finish runs long, tropical and warming. This is a tropical Highland malt from the foot of the mountains.