Glen Spey 12 Years Old (53.5%)

Glen Spey from the distillery, a 12 year old, at 53.5%. Glen Spey is a Speyside single malt whose purifier stills give a light, grassy spirit. The distillery is said to be watched over by the ghost of a soldier who died on the site. It was founded in 1878 by the grain merchant James Stuart, who added stills to an old oatmeal mill.

It was distilled in tall onion shaped stills, shaping a light body with a soft, waxy edge. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin lending vanilla under the light fruit. Through integration the spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend a riper orchard fruit over the nutty malt. Active wood frames the fruit without ever crowding the delicate Speyside spirit. The lantern stills set a light, fresh tone that the oak then slowly deepens. Built for the blender's art, the light make ages with quiet grace as a single malt.

At a hearty 53.5% it carries real weight. A clean, grassy sweetness with a nutty thread, lifted by a soft oak. The body is light and clean, the fruit lifted by a gentle oak. A long, grassy finish carries a light fruit and a nutty malt. This is a light, grassy Speyside single malt.