Glencraig 1976 (Signatory) (Cask 4283)

Signatory Vintage, the Edinburgh house that bottles at Edradour above Pitlochry, bottled this Glencraig, distilled in 1976, from cask 4283, at 42%, one of 176 bottles. Glenburgie is a Speyside single malt, this a heavier, oilier make than its light house style. It has belonged to Chivas Brothers, part of Pernod Ricard, since 2005. Between 1958 and 1981 it ran a pair of Lomond stills, cut heavier than the ordinary pot stills.

The spirit was distilled to a fuller, oilier cut, building a richer malt with real oily weight. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a soft honey over the orchard fruit. At a great, fragile age oxidation rules, sotolon lending honey and dried fig as beeswax and a waxy note linger. Long ageing turns the fresh apple towards beeswax, tropical fruit and a gentle spice. Built for the blender's art, the make ages with quiet grace as a single malt. Maturation runs slow and even in the cool Speyside warehouses.

Reduced to 42%, it is mellow and fragrant. A heavier, fruity sweetness with a waxy depth, lifted by a soft oak. The body is fuller and oily, the fruit wrapped in wax. It finishes full, oily and waxy. This is the heavier, oily make of the distillery.