Speyside Distillery 8 Years Old DMor (Dràm Mòr)

From Dràm Mòr comes this Speyside Distillery single malt, an 8 year old, drawn from cask 4081 and bottled at 55.3%. A release of 274 bottles. Set close to the very source of the River Spey, the Speyside Distillery was slowly converted from an old mill by one stonemason. It stood in for the fictional Lagganmore in the BBC series Monarch of the Glen.

The spirit was made in small stills after a long, ester building fermentation, for a soft, fruity make from short stills. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness to the make. Still young, the malt is bright and fruity with a soft honey. Long, gentle ageing turns the fresh fruit towards honey and soft spice. The SPEY range and the dark Beinn Dubh are bottled by Harvey's of Edinburgh. Short stills and slow, hands on distillation coax a light, fruity spirit. The site was a working barley mill from the 1700s until 1965.

Undiluted at 55.3%, it is layered. The Pedro Ximenez lends raisin, date and treacle, and a gentle vanilla and coconut from the wood runs under a clean, honeyed fruitiness. A dried fruit and a gentle oak spice give it depth. A warming, fruity finish lingers. This is a delicate Speysider from the upper Spey.