Speyside Distillery 1995 BR (BB&R)

Bottled by Berry Bros & Rudd, this Speyside Distillery single malt, a 17 year old release from 1995, drawn from cask 15 and bottled at 59.9%. The Speyside Distillery was hand built over two decades by the stonemason Alex Fairlie in the Cairngorm foothills near Kingussie; it is one of the smallest and most picturesque distilleries in Scotland. George Christie bought the land in 1956 and had a stonemason raise the distillery by hand over the years that followed.

The spirit was run slow through small copper stills for a light, fruity spirit, to build a fresh, orchard fruit character. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. Beyond sixteen years the malt grows deep and honeyed, dried fruit and oak spice over orchard fruit. A long fermentation and slow distillation in the short stills are managed by hand to keep the spirit light and fruity.

At a hearty 59.9% it carries real weight. The Oloroso brings dried fruit, fig and a nutty depth, and orchard fruit and a floral lift sit alongside a quiet vanilla from the refill oak. A ripe pear and a gentle spice lift it. Apple, honey and oak draw out the close. This is the fresh Speyside style of the SPEY range.