Strathclyde 14 Years Old 2010 Cask #Z22/09007-2 (Douglas Thomson)

Single grain Strathclyde, an independent Douglas Thomson bottling, a 14 year old from 2010, drawn from cask Z22/09007-2 and bottled at 58.2%. A release of 87 bottles. Strathclyde was founded in 1927 by Seager Evans on an old cotton mill site in Glasgow, and it still makes grain whisky for the big blends. Strathclyde stands on the site of an old cotton mill in the Gorbals.

The spirit was run through column stills, an analyser and a rectifier, on Loch Katrine water, to build a soft, sweet grain character. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak that drives the grain's sweetness. Still young, the grain is soft and vanilla led with a cereal note. Long ageing turns light grain into a deep, oily, dessert sweet whisky. Light grain spirit takes oak readily, so long ageing brings out coconut and toffee. The distillery sits in the Gorbals on the south bank of the Clyde. It is now part of the Chivas Brothers stable, working quietly in the city.

At a full 58.2% it is intense yet sweet. The ex-Bourbon gives sweet vanilla and a buttery coconut. Beneath it run coconut, vanilla and a soft oil. It closes long, sweet and oily. This is an old Glasgow single grain whisky.