Fettercairn 46 Years Old 1973 (Ex-Bourbon, Tawny Port)

Fettercairn from the distillery, a 46 year old, from 1973, at 42.5%, 55 bottles in all. Fettercairn is a Highland single malt whose tropical character comes from water cooled stills. Its stills carry unique cooling rings, copper tubes that drench them in cold mountain water.

It was made on mountain water with the stills drenched in cold water, building the tropical Fettercairn style. Finished in a Tawny Port cask, the wood building over the fruity, light spirit. In its ethereal years the malt is waxy and oxidative, faded tropical esters and a touch of sotolon (maple, dried fig). The cool Highland air of the Mearns gives a slow, even maturation in the dunnage warehouses. A Scottish oak project has planted thousands of native oak saplings beside the distillery. In 2018 the distillery relaunched with a new core range under maker Gregg Glass.

At 42.5% it is fruity, tropical and clean. A clean, fruity sweetness, with a nutty, raisined red fruit from the cask. It is fruity and tropical, the light spirit shining through. A long, fruity finish carries a tropical fruit and a soft spice. This is Fettercairn's pineapple led Highland style.