Inchgower 5 Years Old 2013 Cask #DL 13098 (Provenance)

On the Cromarty side of the Moray Firth, Inchgower distils a coastal, savoury malt that has fed Bell's and other Diageo blends for decades. Douglas Laing, a Glasgow bottling house, selected this single cask, distilled in 2013, and released it at 5 years old in its Provenance range. Single cask DL 13098 gave 433 bottles, released for Belgium.

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 46%, American oak from the ex-Bourbon cask supplies vanilla and coconut, with eugenol adding a touch of clove. At under ten years the cask has had only a short time to work, so Inchgower's own salty, waxy spirit still leads.