Glen Spey 10 Years Old 2012 Cask #807700 (Lady of the Glen)

This Glen Spey was bottled by Lady of the Glen, a 10 year old, distilled in 2012, from cask 807700, at 58.4%, one of 295 bottles. Glen Spey is a delicate, grassy Speyside single malt, light and clean in the glass. Most of its spirit goes to blends; single malt Glen Spey is rare, and largely the work of independents. It was bottled as a single malt in Diageo's Flora and Fauna range in 2001, one of its rare official outings. It sits below the ruins of Castle Rothes, once the seat of the Earls of Rothes.

Run slowly off the four copper stills, the purifiers paring it back to a light, grassy core. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the fresh spirit. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the hay softening towards a nutty honey. Maturation in the racked warehouses is slow and even, the Speyside air cool and steady. A light oiliness carries a waxy thread through the long, slow maturation.

At a hearty 58.4% it carries real weight. A clean, grassy sweetness with a nutty thread, lifted by a soft oak. A green apple and a gentle spice lift the middle. A fresh finish closes on a nutty malt and a soft oak. This is a fresh, fragrant Speyside single malt.