Edradour 1st Fill Merlot Casks 12 Years Old 2012

A 12 year old Edradour, a distillery bottling, from 2012, cask 713, 714, at 48.2%, 719 bottles in all. Edradour is a small batch Highland malt, owned by the independent bottler Signatory Vintage. A rare Morton refrigerator still cools the wort, one of the last in use in Scotland.

It was made in the smallest of stills and condensed in worm tubs, building the creamy Edradour style. Maturation came in a Merlot cask, layered over the rich Edradour make. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the oily malt, the body fuller and creamier. The full bodied spirit shows the cask clearly, the sherry and oak to the fore. Years in oak round the spirit, the dried fruit and chocolate deepening over the oily core. The worm tubs leave an oily weight that carries through the years in cask. A gentle maturation suits the oily make, the nutty richness growing with time.

At its natural 48.2% it is rich and full bodied. Baked apple, marzipan and a creamy malt, with a soft, plummy red berry from the cask. The texture is oily and creamy, the fruit lifted by vanilla. The finish runs long, nutty and warming. This is a rich, oily Highland single malt.