Fettercairn 13 Years Old 2008 Cask #4654 (Archives)

A 13 year old Fettercairn from the bottler Archives, distilled in 2008, from cask 4654, bottled at 56.3%, one of 238 bottles. Fettercairn, founded in 1824 by Sir Alexander Ramsay, is one of Scotland's oldest licensed distilleries. Its water comes from springs in the Grampian and Cairngorm mountains above the distillery.

Worked through the cooling ring stills for a clean, fruity make, for the tropical, fruity make Fettercairn is known for. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla and a touch of coconut from the lactones. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into a rounded vanilla as ethyl esters lend a riper pineapple and pear. The cool Highland air of the Mearns gives a slow, even maturation in the dunnage warehouses. A gentle maturation suits the light make, the tropical fruit growing richer with time. It uses unpeated malt and matures mostly in American oak ex-Bourbon casks.

At cask strength 56.3% it is full bodied. A bright, tropical orchard fruit, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is clean, the fruit carried on a light body. It finishes long, fruity and clean. This is Fettercairn's pineapple led Highland style.