Inchgower 16 Years Old 2001 Cask #303696 (A.D. Rattray)

Inchgower is rarely bottled on its own, most of its salty, nutty spirit going to the blenders, so independent releases carry the distillery's name where the blends do not. A.D. Rattray selected this single cask, distilled in 2001, and released it at 16 years old in its Individual Cask Bottling range. Single cask 303696 gave 274 bottles, released for Germany.

The distillery's spirit is built for body rather than elegance, nutty and waxy with a coastal salt note unusual for Speyside. This bottling matured in an ex-Bourbon cask.

Bottled at its natural cask strength of 56.4%, without dilution, the ex-Bourbon wood gives vanillin for vanilla and oak lactones for coconut, with maltol lending toffee. At 16 years the cask has had time to round off the spirit's coastal edge and pull the flavours together.