Edradour 9 Years Old 2011 Cask #33 (van Wees)

This Edradour was bottled by the Dutch bottler van Wees, a 9 year old, distilled in 2011, from cask 33, bottled at 58.4%, one of 642 bottles. Edradour is a small, traditional Highland single malt, owned by Signatory since 2002. It was bought in 2002 by Andrew Symington of the independent bottler Signatory Vintage.

The spirit was run through the small stills with their boil ball purifiers, building the creamy Edradour style. Maturation came in an Oloroso cask, layered over the rich Edradour make. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and lactones a coconut, the spirit rich, oily and nutty. A small distillery and a hands on approach shape every cask by hand. A rare Morton refrigerator still cools the wort, one of the last in use in Scotland. Long ageing turns the rich make towards dried fruit, fig and a soft spice. Its water comes from the Ben Vrackie springs in the hills above the distillery.

At a hearty 58.4% it carries real weight. A rich, oily orchard fruit and almond, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath it run dried fruit, chocolate and a soft oil. It finishes long, rich and oily. This is a rich Highland malt from the pocket glen at Pitlochry.