Glenburgie 16 Years Old 1997 Cask #HL 10222 (Old Malt Cask)

This Glenburgie comes from Hunter Laing, the Glasgow bottler of the Laing family, a 16 year old, distilled in 1997, from cask HL 10222, at 50%, one of 449 bottles. Glenburgie is a light, fruity Speyside malt of orchard fruit, grass and a soft waxy thread. Its water is drawn from a local spring near the distillery. Its make has long fed big blends like Old Smuggler down the decades. It was expanded to six stills after the rebuild, one of the bigger distilleries in the group.

It was drawn from a long fermentation, for the light, fruity make the Ballantine's blenders prized. It was finished in an Oloroso cask, the wood building on the light, fruity spirit. Into oxidative maturity, slow air builds ripe esters of apple and a light tropical note over a waxy depth. Built for the blender's art, the make ages with quiet grace as a single malt. The spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out a soft beeswax.

At a natural 50% it is full and waxy. Pear, floral notes and a soft, waxy sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Soft apple and a waxy honey sit behind the cask. A long, fruity finish carries a waxy honey. This is the fragrant blending malt of Alves.