Glenesk 5 Years Old (Wm. Sanderson & Son Ltd. (WM.S))

This Glenesk was bottled by Wm. Sanderson and Son Ltd. (WM.S), a 5 year old, at 40%. Glenesk was a Highland single malt distilled at Montrose, in the valley of the Esk. It was rebuilt as a grain distillery from 1938, working a continuous Coffey still for over two decades. It returned to malt whisky in 1964, with two pairs of pot stills, under the name Hillside.

It was run slowly off the spirit still, for a light, honeyed make with a cereal edge. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the American oak lending vanilla and a light honey. In these extractive early years the oak gives vanillin as vanilla and lactones as coconut over pear, apple and a creamy note. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the malt. Long ageing turned the fresh notes towards orchard fruit, honey and a gentle spice. Active wood frames the malt without ever crowding the light Highland spirit.

At 40% it is smooth and fruity. A honeyed, malty sweetness, lifted by a soft oak. It is malty and clean, the honeyed spirit shining through. The finish is rounded, honeyed and clean. This is a closed Highland single malt of real history.