Edradour 8 Years Old 2011 Cask #81 (van Wees)

The Dutch bottler van Wees bottled this Edradour, an 8 year old, distilled in 2011, from cask 81, bottled at 60.7%, one of 385 bottles. Edradour is a full bodied, oily Highland malt made on Ben Vrackie water at Pitlochry. It keeps the old ways, with an open cast iron mash tun, Oregon pine washbacks and worm tub condensers.

It was distilled from unpeated malt in tiny copper stills and worm tubs, the worm tubs lending a weighty, oily character. Maturation came in a Marsala cask, layered over the rich Edradour make. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted sugars (light caramel) over the creamy make. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit. A 2018 expansion added a second still house, the production still small and traditional. It was founded in 1825, growing out of an old farmers' cooperative in the glen above Pitlochry.

At its natural 60.7% it is rich and full bodied. Baked apple, marzipan and a creamy malt, with a raisined, herbal sweetness from the cask. The mouthfeel is thick and oily, the fruit on a creamy body. It finishes long, rich and oily. This is the little gem of the Highlands at Pitlochry.