Glen Spey 10 Years Old 2013 Cask #802513 (Pendulum Spirits Ltd)

Pendulum Spirits bottled this Glen Spey, a 10 year old, distilled in 2013, from cask 802513, at 58.8%, one of 290 bottles. Glen Spey is a Speyside single malt made on Doonie Burn water at Rothes. Under Gilbey it took the Glen Spey name and supplied the house Spey Royal blend. Most of its spirit goes to blends; single malt Glen Spey is rare, and largely the work of independents.

It was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, giving the clean, nutty Speyside spirit Glen Spey is known for. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a light vanilla and a touch of honey. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the grassy spirit growing rounder and a touch waxy. Active wood frames the fruit without ever crowding the delicate Speyside spirit. Maturation in the racked warehouses is slow and even, the Speyside air cool and steady.

At its natural 58.8% it is rich and grassy. Fresh cut grass, green apple and a nutty malt, lifted by a soft oak. The mouthfeel is light, a faint waxiness carrying the fruit. A fresh finish closes on a nutty malt and a soft oak. This is a fresh, fragrant Speyside single malt.