Fettercairn 8 Years Old (Premier Barrel)

This Fettercairn was bottled by the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, an 8 year old, bottled at 46%, one of 405 bottles. Fettercairn is a Highland single malt whose tropical character comes from water cooled stills. A Scottish oak project has planted thousands of native oak saplings beside the distillery.

It was drawn off the stills, the cooling rings raising reflux for a fruity spirit, giving the light, pineapple led Highland spirit. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the fruity spirit. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and lactones a coconut, the spirit fresh, fruity and tropical. Refill oak lets the light, tropical Fettercairn character lead the way. Years in oak round the spirit, the pineapple and citrus deepening to a mango. It uses unpeated malt and matures mostly in American oak ex-Bourbon casks. The cool Highland air of the Mearns gives a slow, even maturation in the dunnage warehouses.

Reduced to 46%, it is mellow. A light, tropical sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Mango, citrus and a creamy vanilla fill the middle. The close is light and warming, fruit over a gentle oak. This is the light, fruit driven malt of Fettercairn.