Glenburgie 21 Years Old 1995 Cask #6493 (Signatory)

Signatory Vintage, the Edinburgh house that bottles at Edradour above Pitlochry, bottled this Glenburgie, distilled in 1995, from cask 6493, at 52.5%, one of 294 bottles. Glenburgie is a Speyside single malt made near Alves in Moray, east of Forres. It was rebuilt in 1881 by Charles Chree Doig, the architect behind so many Speyside stillhouses. The old distillery was demolished and rebuilt in 2004, only the little stone office left standing.

It was distilled from unpeated malt, for a light body with a gentle, waxy edge. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a soft honey over the orchard fruit. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the apple and pear turning to a waxy honey and soft tropical fruit. First fill wood drives the maturation, the cask clear in the spirit. Years in oak deepen the spirit to old gold, the body growing rounder and waxier with time.

Bottled at a cask strength 52.5%, it is concentrated. Pear, honey and a creamy oak, with a gentle oak sweetness. Beneath it run baked apple, a light citrus and a soft honey. The finish runs delicate, fruity and waxy. This is a light, waxy Speyside single malt.