Edradour Natural Cask Strength 13 Years Old 2005

A 13 year old Edradour, a distillery bottling, from 2005, cask 139, at 60.6%, 637 bottles in all. Edradour is a small batch Highland malt, owned by the independent bottler Signatory Vintage. It is one of the smallest traditional distilleries in Scotland, long run by just two or three hands.

It was distilled slowly in the old farm stillhouse on Ben Vrackie water, building the creamy Edradour style. Finished in an Oloroso cask, the wood building over the oily, full bodied spirit. By the integrating teens congeners fade and esters build, the rich, oily spirit growing creamier. The full bodied spirit shows the cask clearly, the sherry and oak to the fore. It was founded in 1825, growing out of an old farmers' cooperative in the glen above Pitlochry. A rare Morton refrigerator still cools the wort, one of the last in use in Scotland.

At a hearty 60.6% it carries real weight. Dried fruit, nut and a soft chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is thick and oily, the fruit on a creamy body. The finish runs long, nutty and warming. This is the little gem of the Highlands at Pitlochry.