Speyside Distillery 1991 V&M (Valinch & Mallet)

A Speyside Distillery single malt, selected and bottled by Valinch & Mallet, aged 30 year old from 1991, drawn from cask 3 and bottled at 49.8%. The outturn was 245 bottles. The Speyside Distillery, painstakingly built by hand before its first spirit in 1990 at Drumguish by the River Tromie, is the source of the SPEY malts. Water comes from the River Tromie, drawn through the old mill lade that once turned the waterwheel.

Distilled in two of the smallest pot stills in Scotland under a single roof, giving the delicate, floral spirit at its heart. A sherry cask wrapped the fruity spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Very old make from here turns profound, waxy and rich yet still fragrant. A patient maturation suits the soft, fruity Speyside character. The site was a working barley mill from the 1700s until 1965. A long fermentation builds the fruity esters that mark the house style.

Undiluted at 49.8%, it is layered. The Oloroso brings dried fruit, fig and a nutty depth, and vanilla and a creamy note from the barrel, with pear, honey and a fragrant lift. The texture is light and rounded, the fruit lifted by honey. The finish is rounded, honeyed and soft. This is the hand built malt of Drumguish.