Edradour 2006 Nepal Earthquake Relief Cask #246

Edradour from the distillery, a 9 year old, from 2006, cask 246, at 40%, 1033 bottles in all. Edradour is a Highland single malt from Perthshire, traditional and tiny, now Scotland's little gem. Its tiny copper stills and worm tubs give a rich, oily, full bodied spirit.

The spirit was made in the smallest of stills and condensed in worm tubs, building the creamy Edradour style. Finished in an Oloroso cask, the wood building over the oily, full bodied spirit. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted sugars (light caramel) over the creamy make. The cool Highland air of the glen gives a slow, even maturation in the small Edradour warehouses. The distillery sits in a pocket glen at Balnauld, in the hills above Pitlochry in Perthshire. A rare Morton refrigerator still cools the wort, one of the last in use in Scotland. It was bought in 2002 by Andrew Symington of the independent bottler Signatory Vintage.

Reduced to 40%, it is mellow. A full, fruity sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The texture is oily and creamy, the fruit lifted by vanilla. A long, nutty finish carries dried fruit and a soft spice. This is the oily, rich malt of tiny Edradour.