Glen Spey 12 Years Old 2002 Cask #91341 (Ian Macleod)

This Glen Spey was bottled by Ian Macleod, a 12 year old, distilled in 2002, from cask 91341, at 43%, one of 906 bottles. Glen Spey is a Speyside single malt, long a quiet backbone of the J and B blend. James Stuart held the licence to Macallan at the time, and bought that distillery outright in 1886. It was founded in 1878 by the grain merchant James Stuart, who added stills to an old oatmeal mill.

It was distilled from unpeated malt, for a delicate make of fresh grass and orchard fruit. Maturation came in an Oloroso cask, layered over the fresh Glen Spey make. Through integration the spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend a riper orchard fruit over the nutty malt. Built for the blender's art, the light make ages with quiet grace as a single malt. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit.

At 43% it is grassy, nutty and soft. A clean, grassy sweetness with a nutty thread, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is grassy and gently nutty, the delicate spirit shining through. A long, grassy finish carries a light fruit and a nutty malt. This is a fresh, fragrant Speyside single malt.