Glenburgie 14 Years Old 2010 Cask #160 (Valinch & Mallet)

This Glenburgie was bottled by Valinch and Mallet, a 14 year old, distilled in 2010, from cask 160, at 52.7%, one of 299 bottles. Glenburgie is a Speyside single malt made near Alves in Moray, east of Forres. The old distillery was demolished and rebuilt in 2004, only the little stone office left standing. It was expanded to six stills after the rebuild, one of the bigger distilleries in the group.

It was distilled in tall onion shaped pot stills, for the light, fruity make the Ballantine's blenders prized. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending a creamy vanilla. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the fruity spirit growing rounder and a touch waxy. First fill wood drives the maturation, the cask clear in the spirit. Long ageing turns the fresh apple towards beeswax, tropical fruit and a gentle spice. The spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out a soft beeswax.

At a natural 52.7% it is full and waxy. Baked apple, grass and a light honey, over a gentle, creamy oak. Soft apple and a waxy honey sit behind the cask. The finish is rounded, fruity and clean. This is a fresh, fruity Speyside single malt.