Glen Keith 19 Years Old 1995 Cask #171208 + 171210 (Signatory)

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage bottled this Glen Keith, a 19 year old, distilled in 1995, from cask 171208 + 171210, bottled at 46%. Glen Keith is a Speyside single malt made behind Strathisla, mostly for the Chivas blends. It was built in 1957 by Seagram on the site of a meal mill, directly behind Strathisla.

The spirit was worked through the tall stills for a light, sweet make, for a light, elegant spirit with a soft malt. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending vanilla and a little coconut. At oxidative maturity vanillin and lactones are fully expressed, the light fruit deepening to honey. Maturation in the racked warehouses at Keith is slow and steady. It ran triple distillation from the start, switching to double distillation by the 1980s. The cool Speyside air gives a slow, even maturation in the Glen Keith warehouses. Its water is drawn from the Balloch Hill spring above Keith.

At an approachable 46% it is light and clean. A clean, fruity sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath it run green apple, pear and a soft vanilla. The finish is rounded, fruity and clean. This is Glen Keith, Seagram's experimental Speyside malt.