Glen Keith The Distillery Reserve Collection 17 Years Old 1998

Glen Keith from the distillery, a 17 year old, from 1998, cask 74790, 74792, 74793, at 53.8%, 957 bottles in all. Glen Keith, founded in 1957, was Seagram's innovation plant on Speyside. It ran triple distillation from the start, switching to double distillation by the 1980s.

Distilled from unpeated malt in tall, narrowing stills, building the fresh Glen Keith style. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending vanilla and a little coconut. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins add a gentle, drying grip over the fruit. The light, fruity spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and fruit to the fore. Its make went largely into the Chivas Regal, Passport and 100 Pipers blends. It was the first distillery in Scotland to use gas fired direct heating. Single malt Glen Keith is rare, most of it coming from independent bottlers. It was the first new distillery to open in Speyside since the great whisky crash of 1898.

At its natural 53.8% it is concentrated. A light, orchard fruit and citrus, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a gentle spice lift it. The finish runs light, fruity and clean. This is Glen Keith, Seagram's experimental Speyside malt.