Edradour Single Cask #2 13 Years Old 2010 (Pinot Noir)

A 13 year old Edradour, a distillery bottling, from 2010, cask 2, at 48.2%. Edradour is a small batch Highland malt, owned by the independent bottler Signatory Vintage. Under Signatory the range has grown to a wide run of sherry and wine cask bottlings.

It was distilled from unpeated malt in tiny copper stills and worm tubs, building the creamy Edradour style. Finished in a Pinot Noir cask, the wood building over the oily, full bodied spirit. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into a rounded vanilla as ethyl esters lend a riper apple and dried fruit. A small distillery and a hands on approach shape every cask by hand. It keeps the old ways, with an open cast iron mash tun, Oregon pine washbacks and worm tub condensers. It was bought in 2002 by Andrew Symington of the independent bottler Signatory Vintage.

At 48.2%, undiluted, it is deep and concentrated. Dried fruit, chocolate and a nutty oil, with a light red berry and a dry edge from the cask. Beneath it run dried fruit, chocolate and a soft oil. A long, nutty finish carries dried fruit and a soft spice. This is a Highland single malt of real character.