Glenburgie 8 Years Old (G&M)

A Glenburgie of an 8 year old chosen by Gordon and MacPhail, at 40%. Glenburgie is a fragrant Speyside malt, a core flavour of Ballantine's for decades. It was rebuilt in 1881 by Charles Chree Doig, the architect behind so many Speyside stillhouses. Its make has long fed big blends like Old Smuggler down the decades.

Distilled in tall onion shaped pot stills, for a soft, fruity spirit with a waxy thread. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending a creamy vanilla. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin and toasted sugars over the clean, fruity spirit. A soft waxiness from the spirit carries a thread through the maturation. Maturation runs slow and even in the cool Speyside warehouses. 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. Active wood frames the fruit without ever crowding the Speyside spirit.

At 40% it is smooth and fruity. Apple, pear and fresh cut grass, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Pear, grass and a creamy oak fill the middle. The finish runs delicate, fruity and waxy. This is a fragrant Speyside single malt of real lightness.