Speyside Distillery 2009 RS (Riegger’s Selection)

Bottled by Riegger's Selection, this Speyside Distillery single malt, a 9 year old from 2009, drawn from cask 889 and bottled at 46.3%. The outturn was 403 bottles. Hand built over two decades by the stonemason Alex Fairlie in the Cairngorm foothills near Kingussie, the Speyside Distillery is one of Scotland's smallest. 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. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light honeyed sweetness. At this young age the spirit is fresh and light, the apple and pear bright. A long fermentation and slow distillation in the short stills are managed by hand to keep the spirit light and fruity. The distillery played the fictional Lagganmore in the BBC series Monarch of the Glen.

At an easy 46.3% it is gentle. Orchard fruit and a floral lift sit alongside a quiet vanilla from the refill oak. A ripe pear and a gentle spice lift it. It finishes clean, fresh and fruity. This is the fresh Speyside style of the SPEY range.