Glen Spey 25 Years Old 1991 Cask #800861 (A.D. Rattray)

A.D. Rattray bottled this Glen Spey, a 25 year old, distilled in 1991, from cask 800861, at 47.4%, one of 274 bottles. Glen Spey is a Speyside single malt, most of it long destined for the blender's vat. James Stuart held the licence to Macallan at the time, and bought that distillery outright in 1886. It sits below the ruins of Castle Rothes, once the seat of the Earls of Rothes.

It was run slowly off the four copper stills, the purifiers paring it back to a light, grassy core. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla and a hint of coconut from the lactones. At this evaporative stage ellagitannins lend structure while oxidation builds a richer, tropical fruit over beeswax. The lantern stills set a light, fresh tone that the oak then slowly deepens. Years in oak round the spirit, the fresh notes deepening towards a nutty honey and orchard fruit.

At a natural 47.4% it is full and nutty. A clean, grassy sweetness with a nutty thread, lifted by a soft oak. A light orchard fruit and a soft oak give it shape. A long, grassy finish carries a light fruit and a nutty malt. This is a light, nutty Speyside single malt.