Edradour Straight From The Cask – Sherry Cask Matured 12 Years Old 1991

A 12 year old Edradour, a distillery bottling, from 1991, cask 280, at 59.4%, 886 bottles in all. Edradour is a Highland single malt distilled in a pocket glen near Pitlochry since 1825. Its tiny copper stills and worm tubs give a rich, oily, full bodied spirit.

Run through the small stills with their boil ball purifiers, for a full, oily make of dried fruit and chocolate. It was matured in an Oloroso cask, the wood working slowly into the rich malt. By the integrating teens congeners fade and esters build, the rich, oily spirit growing creamier. A gentle maturation suits the oily make, the nutty richness growing with time. For years its sign read Scotland's smallest distillery; it now calls itself Scotland's little gem. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit. Active wood frames the rich fruit without overwhelming the oily Highland spirit.

At 59.4%, undiluted, it is deep and concentrated. Baked apple, marzipan and a creamy malt, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath it run dried fruit, chocolate and a soft oil. The finish is long, oily and gently spiced. This is Edradour, one of Scotland's smallest distilleries.