Edradour Chardonnay Cask Matured 10 Years Old 2011 (60.4%)

This official Edradour, a 10 year old, from 2011, cask 395, at 60.4%, 286 bottles in all. Edradour is a Highland single malt from Perthshire, traditional and tiny, now Scotland's little gem. The distillery sits in a pocket glen at Balnauld, in the hills above Pitlochry in Perthshire.

The spirit was made in the smallest of stills and condensed in worm tubs, the worm tubs lending a weighty, oily character. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin lending vanilla under the fruit. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the oily malt, the body fuller and creamier. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit. Its water comes from the Ben Vrackie springs in the hills above the distillery. 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.

At a natural 60.4% it is full and oily. Baked apple, marzipan and a creamy malt, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a gentle spice lift it. The finish is long, oily and gently spiced. This is the little gem of the Highlands at Pitlochry.