Edradour 9 Years Old 2015 Cask #137 (van Wees)

This Edradour was bottled by the Dutch bottler van Wees, a 9 year old, distilled in 2015, from cask 137, bottled at 58.9%, one of 641 bottles. Edradour is a full bodied, oily Highland malt made on Ben Vrackie water at Pitlochry. The distillery sits in a pocket glen at Balnauld, in the hills above Pitlochry in Perthshire.

It was made in the smallest of stills and condensed in worm tubs, for a full, oily make of dried fruit and chocolate. 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. Ben Vrackie water and a long ferment give the rich Edradour make. It keeps the old ways, with an open cast iron mash tun, Oregon pine washbacks and worm tub condensers.

At cask strength 58.9% it is big and oily. Dried fruit, nut and a soft chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a gentle spice lift it. A rich finish ends on dried fruit and a soft oak. This is a Highland single malt of real character.