SPEY Royal Choice

A distillery bottling from the Speyside Distillery and bottled at 46%. 1500 bottles in all. The Speyside Distillery was slowly converted from an old mill by one stonemason close to the very source of the River Spey; it is one of the smallest and most picturesque distilleries in Scotland. Its two small pot stills, among the smallest in Scotland, sit with the whole production under one roof.

The spirit was made in small stills after a long, ester building fermentation, for a soft, fruity make from short stills. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the light character to the fore. Carrying no age, it leans on apple, pear and a soft vanilla. Long, gentle ageing turns the fresh fruit towards honey and soft spice. Set in the Cairngorm foothills, it counts among Scotland's prettiest distilleries. Harvey's whisky heritage runs back to 1770 and the founding of Bruichladdich.

Reduced to 46%, it is mellow. A gentle vanilla and coconut from the wood runs under honey, apple and a soft spice. It is fragrant and rounded, the fruit and oak well matched. Honey and orchard fruit see out a long finish. This is a clean, fragrant Speyside single malt.