Glen Spey 10 Years Old 2009 Cask #804613 (A.D. Rattray)

This Glen Spey comes from A.D. Rattray, the Morrison family bottler, its shop set in the old village school at Kirkoswald on the Ayrshire coast, a 10 year old, distilled in 2009, from cask 804613, at 58.3%, one of 304 bottles. Glen Spey is a Speyside single malt, owned by the London gin house Gilbey from 1887. Its stills carry purifiers, which raise the reflux and return the heavier vapours for a lighter, cleaner spirit. It is one of five distilleries in the whisky town of Rothes, in the heart of Speyside. James Stuart held the licence to Macallan at the time, and bought that distillery outright in 1886.

Distilled from unpeated malt, for a fine, clean malt the blenders have long prized. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla and a hint of coconut from the lactones. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the grassy spirit growing rounder and a touch waxy. Long ageing turns the green, herbal edge towards orchard fruit, honey and a gentle spice.

At a natural 58.3% it is full and nutty. Green apple, hay and a soft cereal, with a light oak sweetness. A green apple and a gentle spice lift the middle. The finish is rounded, nutty and clean. This is a light, grassy Speyside single malt.