Glenesk 12 Years Old 1982

Chosen by Gordon and MacPhail, the Elgin grocer laying down casks on South Street since 1895, this a 12 year old Glenesk, distilled in 1982, at 40%. Glenesk was a Highland single malt from a distillery near Montrose that closed in 1985. It passed to DCL in 1954 and to Scottish Malt Distillers in 1964, ending its days within Diageo.

Drawn from a long fermentation, building a soft malt of honey, cereal and orchard fruit. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a soft honey over the orchard fruit. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend a riper orchard and tropical fruit. Long ageing turned the fresh notes towards orchard fruit, honey and a gentle spice. With the distillery long closed, these are casks that can never be filled again. Maturation ran slow and even in the old bonded warehouses on the coast at Montrose. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the malt.

At 40% it is fruity, creamy and soft. A soft malty sweetness and a cereal note, lifted by a soft oak. Beneath it run honey, barley and a soft apple. A gentle finish closes on honey and a soft oak. This is a lost Highland single malt.