Glen Spey 18 Years Old 2001 Cask #301020 (Connoisseurs Choice)

This Glen Spey was bottled by Gordon and MacPhail, an 18 year old, distilled in 2001, from cask 301020, at 56.3%, one of 244 bottles. Glen Spey is a delicate, grassy Speyside single malt, light and clean in the glass. Most of its spirit goes to blends; single malt Glen Spey is rare, and largely the work of independents. It is one of five distilleries in the whisky town of Rothes, in the heart of Speyside.

Taken gently through wash and spirit stills, building a light, fragrant spirit with a thread of nuttiness. Finished in an Oloroso cask, the wood building on the light spirit. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a gentle, drying grip across the malt. Because the purifiers keep the spirit light, the cask shows clearly through the years. Years in oak round the spirit, the fresh notes deepening towards a nutty honey and orchard fruit.

At a hearty 56.3% it carries real weight. Green apple, hay and a soft cereal, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Pear, hay and a creamy vanilla fill the middle. A long, grassy finish carries a light fruit and a nutty malt. This is a grassy Speyside malt of real delicacy.