Glenburgie 30 Years Old 1988 Cask #1082

Gordon and MacPhail bottled this Glenburgie, a 30 year old, distilled in 1988, from cask 1082, at 50.4%, one of 96 bottles. Glenburgie is a light, fruity Speyside malt of orchard fruit, grass and a soft waxy thread. It was founded in 1810 as Kilnflat by William Paul, taking the Glenburgie name in 1878. It was expanded to six stills after the rebuild, one of the bigger distilleries in the group.

Drawn from a long fermentation, building a light malt of orchard fruit and fresh grass. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin and a soft coconut under the malt. Ethereal and fragile, the decades draw it to a honeyed, waxy delicacy of tropical fruit and old oak. Active wood frames the fruit without ever crowding the Speyside spirit. Maturation runs slow and even in the cool Speyside warehouses. The spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out a soft beeswax. First fill wood drives the maturation, the cask clear in the spirit.

At a natural 50.4% it is full and waxy. Baked apple, grass and a light honey, lifted by a soft oak. Soft apple and a waxy honey sit behind the cask. A fresh finish closes on apple and a soft oak. This is a fresh, fruity Speyside single malt.