Glencadam 15 Years Old 2004 Cask #DL 13538

Chosen by Douglas Laing, the Glasgow family bottler, this a 15 year old Glencadam, distilled in 2004, from cask DL 13538, at 48.4%, one of 247 bottles. Glencadam is a Highland single malt, long a blending malt and now bottled as a single malt in its own right. Its stills carry lyne arms angled upward, raising the reflux for a lighter, fruitier spirit. Its single malts are bottled at 46 percent, without chill filtration or added colour.

Distilled in onion shaped copper pot stills, for a fine, fruity spirit with a light body. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the fruit. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the orchard fruit turning to mango, pineapple and a waxy honey. A soft, creamy texture from the spirit carries through the maturation. Maturation runs slow and even in the cool, racked Highland warehouses. First fill wood drives the maturation, the cask clear in the light spirit.

At a natural 48.4% it is full and creamy. Apple, apricot and a gentle spice, lifted by a soft oak. The body is light and creamy, the fruit lifted by a soft oak. The finish is rounded, fruity and clean. This is a gently fruity, creamy Highland malt.