Glenburgie 12 Years Old 2001 Cask #2359 (A.D. Rattray)

A.D. Rattray, the Morrison family bottler with its shop in the old village school at Kirkoswald on the Ayrshire coast, bottled this Glenburgie, distilled in 2001, from cask 2359, at 57.1%, one of 326 bottles. Glenburgie is a Speyside single malt, owned by Chivas Brothers and one of the larger Speyside distilleries. Its make has long fed big blends like Old Smuggler down the decades. It has been a core malt of the Ballantine's blend since Hiram Walker bought it in 1936.

It was run slowly off the spirit still, building a light malt of orchard fruit and fresh grass. It was matured in an Oloroso cask, the wood working into the fruity malt. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the apple softening towards a waxy honey. First fill wood drives the maturation, the cask clear in the spirit. Active wood frames the fruit without ever crowding the Speyside spirit.

At a hearty 57.1% it carries real weight. A delicate, soft malt with a waxy edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Pear, grass and a creamy oak fill the middle. The finish runs delicate, fruity and waxy. This is the fragrant blending malt of Alves.