Glenburgie 13 Years Old 2008 Cask #1910212 (Murray McDavid)

Murray McDavid bottled this Glenburgie, a 13 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask 1910212, at 58.5%, a festival cask. 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 was rebuilt in 1881 by Charles Chree Doig, the architect behind so many Speyside stillhouses.

The spirit was distilled in tall onion shaped pot stills, shaping a fine, clean malt with a floral lift. It was finished in an Oloroso cask, the wood building on the light, fruity spirit. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the apple softening towards a waxy honey. Maturation runs slow and even in the cool Speyside warehouses. A soft waxiness from the spirit carries a thread through the maturation. First fill wood drives the maturation, the cask clear in the spirit.

Bottled at a cask strength 58.5%, it is concentrated. Apple, pear and fresh cut grass, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath it run baked apple, a light citrus and a soft honey. The finish is light, fruity and clean. This is Glenburgie's bright, orchard led Speyside character.