Pittyvaich 28 Years Old 1988 Cask #35105 (The Vintage Malt Whisky Co)

This 28 year old is a single cask from The Vintage Malt Whisky Co, released in The Cooper's Choice as a 1988 vintage from ex-Bourbon cask 35105, bottled at a natural 51.5% in an outturn of 295. The 1988 distillation comes from the middle of Pittyvaich's short life, a distillery built in 1974 to feed the Bell's blend and closed in 1993 as demand for the brand fell away.

The whisky spent twenty eight years in a single ex-Bourbon American oak cask, reaching oxidative maturity and moving toward an evaporative phase. The slow loss to the angel's share has concentrated the spirit and built a waxy texture, while the refill oak, well past its sharpest extraction, keeps the light Speyside make clear beneath the years rather than masking it.

At 51.5% it is full and waxy. Lignin gives vanilla, caramelised hemicellulose a honeyed depth, and the long ageing draws out fresh orchard fruit and a soft cereal note over old oak. The finish is long and clean, a cask strength single cask from a distillery long gone, bottled at close to its natural warehouse strength. A rewarding, fruit forward old Speyside single cask from the heart of the distillery's life.