Glenesk 30 Years Old 1975 (Jack Wiebers Whisky World)

A 30 year old Glenesk from Jack Wiebers Whisky World, distilled in 1975, at 55.3%, one of 210 bottles. Glenesk was a Highland single malt known over the years under several names, among them Hillside. Drum maltings added in 1968 outlived the distillery and are working still.

The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills, for a clean, lightly fruity spirit with a malty backbone. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin and a soft coconut under the malt. At a great, fragile age oxidation rules, sotolon lending honey and dried fig as beeswax and a waxy note linger. Maturation ran slow and even in the old bonded warehouses on the coast at Montrose. A light, gently oily texture from the spirit carries through the maturation. With the distillery long closed, these are casks that can never be filled again. Years in oak deepened the spirit to gold, the body growing rounder with time. Active wood frames the malt without ever crowding the light Highland spirit.

At its natural 55.3% it is full and fruity. Pear, barley and a soft oak, lifted by a soft oak. Soft pear and a light honey sit behind the cask. Barley, apple and a soft oak see it out. This is a rare, honeyed Highland single malt.