Glen Spey 30 Years Old 1977 Cask #3660 (A.D. Rattray)

Chosen by A.D. Rattray, the Morrison family bottler, its shop set in the old village school at Kirkoswald on the Ayrshire coast, this a 30 year old Glen Spey, distilled in 1977, from cask 3660, at 54.8%, one of 179 bottles. Glen Spey is a Speyside single malt, long a quiet backbone of the J and B blend. Its stills carry purifiers, which raise the reflux and return the heavier vapours for a lighter, cleaner spirit. It was founded in 1878 by the grain merchant James Stuart, who added stills to an old oatmeal mill.

The spirit was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, shaping a light body with a soft, waxy edge. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the malt. In its ethereal years the malt turns waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a whisper of sotolon. Active wood frames the fruit without ever crowding the delicate Speyside spirit. Long ageing turns the green, herbal edge towards orchard fruit, honey and a gentle spice.

At a natural 54.8% it is full and nutty. A light meadow grass and orchard fruit, 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 light, nutty Speyside single malt.