Glen Spey 10 Years Old 2011 Cask #801625-801626 (James Eadie)

James Eadie bottled this Glen Spey, a 10 year old, distilled in 2011, from cask 801625-801626, at 46%, one of 753 bottles. Glen Spey is a Speyside single malt whose purifier stills give a light, grassy spirit. It was bottled as a single malt in Diageo's Flora and Fauna range in 2001, one of its rare official outings. The distillery is said to be watched over by the ghost of a soldier who died on the site.

The spirit was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, shaping a light body with a soft, waxy edge. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the fresh spirit. Through integration the spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend a riper orchard fruit over the nutty malt. Maturation in the racked warehouses is slow and even, the Speyside air cool and steady. Long ageing turns the green, herbal edge towards orchard fruit, honey and a gentle spice.

At 46% it is grassy, nutty and soft. A clean, grassy sweetness with a nutty thread, over a gentle, creamy oak. It is grassy and gently nutty, the delicate spirit shining through. A long, grassy finish carries a light fruit and a nutty malt. This is a fresh, fragrant Speyside single malt.