Glencadam 22 Years Old 1991

A Glencadam of a 22 year old chosen by Gordon and MacPhail, distilled in 1991, at 46%. Glencadam is a Highland single malt, long a core flavour of the Ballantine's blend. Its water comes from Loch Lee in the Cairngorms, piped down through the River Esk catchment. Its single malts are bottled at 46 percent, without chill filtration or added colour. In the 1890s the Glasgow blender Gilmour Thomson used its malt in a Royal blend said to be favoured by Edward VII.

It was run slowly off the spirit still, shaping a gentle, fragrant malt with a tropical lift. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin and a soft coconut under the malt. In the oxidative, evaporative years the spirit concentrates to tropical fruit, honey and a waxy depth. Long ageing turns the fresh pear towards tropical fruit, honey and a gentle spice. First fill wood drives the maturation, the cask clear in the light spirit. Maturation runs slow and even in the cool, racked Highland warehouses.

Bottled at 46%, it is light and creamy. A clean, fruity sweetness with a floral lift, lifted by a soft oak. The body is light and creamy, the fruit lifted by a soft oak. It finishes light, fresh and faintly creamy. This is a light, fruity Highland single malt.