Speyside SPEY 2008 Cask #3135

A distillery bottling from the Speyside Distillery, a 15 year old Speyside malt from 2008, drawn from cask 3135 and bottled at 46%. Just 375 bottles were filled. Slowly converted from an old mill by one stonemason close to the very source of the River Spey, the Speyside Distillery is one of Scotland's smallest. 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. Maturation came in American oak, with vanilla under the orchard fruit. Past a decade the fruit deepens into honey, soft spice and a fuller body. Long, gentle ageing turns the fresh fruit towards honey and soft spice. Harvey's whisky heritage runs back to 1770 and the founding of Bruichladdich. Quality over quantity has always been the watchword of this tiny distillery. George Christie bought the land in 1956, dreaming of his own small malt distillery.

At 46% it is clean and fruity. 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. The finish runs fresh, soft and fragrant. This is a delicate Speysider from the upper Spey.