Inchgower 17 Years Old 2007 Cask #1799 (Alistair Walker Whisky Company)

Inchgower sits on the Moray Firth coast outside Buckie, a Speyside distillery in name whose malt is salty and savoury in a way the region's usually are not. Alistair Walker Whisky Company selected this single cask, distilled in 2007, and released it at 17 years old in its Infrequent Flyers range. Single cask 1799 gave 298 bottles, released for Europe.

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 a Marsala wine cask.

Bottled at its natural cask strength of 54.2%, without dilution, the Marsala wood adds caramelised brown sugar and dried fruit, with a faint nutty bitterness. At 17 years the cask has had time to round off the spirit's coastal edge and pull the flavours together.