Glen Spey 13 Years Old 2006 Cask #4828 (Alistair Walker Whisky Company)

This Glen Spey was bottled by the Alistair Walker Whisky Company, a 13 year old, distilled in 2006, from cask 4828, at 57.5%, one of 613 bottles. Glen Spey is a Speyside single malt, most of it long destined for the blender's vat. It passed to the London gin house W and A Gilbey in 1887, the first English firm to own a Scottish distillery.

The spirit was distilled from unpeated malt, for a fine, clean malt the blenders have long prized. It was matured in a Pedro Ximenez cask, the wood working into the light malt. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the hay softening towards a nutty honey. Long ageing turns the green, herbal edge towards orchard fruit, honey and a gentle spice. The lantern stills set a light, fresh tone that the oak then slowly deepens. Because the purifiers keep the spirit light, the cask shows clearly through the years.

At its natural 57.5% it is rich and grassy. Fresh cut grass, green apple and a nutty malt, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. The mouthfeel is light, a faint waxiness carrying the fruit. A long, grassy finish carries a light fruit and a nutty malt. This is a fresh, fragrant Speyside single malt.