Fettercairn 25 Years Old

A 25 year old Fettercairn, a distillery bottling, at 46.3%. Fettercairn is a Highland single malt whose tropical character comes from water cooled stills. John Gladstone's son William became Prime Minister and reformed the taxation of whisky.

The spirit was worked through the cooling ring stills for a clean, fruity make, for a clean make of pineapple and citrus. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the fruity spirit. Through the evaporative decades the spirit concentrates, esters folding into dried mango, coffee and beeswax. Active wood frames the fruit without overwhelming the light Highland spirit. A Scottish oak project has planted thousands of native oak saplings beside the distillery. Years in oak round the spirit, the pineapple and citrus deepening to a mango. After Ramsay lost his fortune, the Fasque estate passed to the Gladstone family in 1829.

At 46.3% it is clean and soft. A light, tropical sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A dried fruit and a soft oak give it depth. The close is light and warming, fruit over a gentle oak. This is a light, tropical Highland single malt.