Glen Spey 10 Years Old 2011 Cask #802461 (van Wees)

This Glen Spey was bottled by van Wees, a 10 year old, distilled in 2011, from cask 802461, at 61.2%, one of 281 bottles. Glen Spey is a Speyside single malt from Rothes, founded in 1878 as the Mill of Rothes. When the firm merged with Justerini and Brooks, Glen Spey became a key malt in the J and B blend.

The spirit was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, building a light, fragrant spirit with a thread of nuttiness. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin lending vanilla under the light fruit. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the hay softening towards a nutty honey. A light oiliness carries a waxy thread through the long, slow maturation. Years in oak round the spirit, the fresh notes deepening towards a nutty honey and orchard fruit. Because the purifiers keep the spirit light, the cask shows clearly through the years.

At its natural 61.2% it is rich and grassy. A clean, grassy sweetness with a nutty thread, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A light orchard fruit and a soft oak give it shape. The close is light and clean, grass over a gentle oak. This is a grassy Speyside malt of real delicacy.