Glenburgie 35 Years Old 1966 Finest Cask Strength (Hart Brothers)

A 35 year old Glenburgie from Hart Brothers, distilled in 1966, at 40.5%. Glenburgie is a Speyside single malt from near Alves, founded in 1810 as Kilnflat. The old distillery was demolished and rebuilt in 2004, only the little stone office left standing. It has been a core malt of the Ballantine's blend since Hiram Walker bought it in 1936. It was rebuilt in 1881 by Charles Chree Doig, the architect behind so many Speyside stillhouses.

The spirit was drawn from a long fermentation, for a soft, fruity spirit with a waxy thread. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending a creamy vanilla. At a great, fragile age oxidation rules, sotolon lending honey and dried fig as beeswax and a waxy note linger. Long ageing turns the fresh apple towards beeswax, tropical fruit and a gentle spice. Years in oak deepen the spirit to old gold, the body growing rounder and waxier with time.

Reduced to 40.5%, it is mellow and fragrant. A delicate, soft malt with a waxy edge, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The body is light and clean, the fruit lifted by a soft oak. The close is light and clean, fruit over a gentle oak. This is a fragrant Speyside single malt of real lightness.