Strathclyde 26 Years Old 1993 Cask #243388 (The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd.)

The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd selected this Strathclyde, aged 26 year old from 1993, drawn from cask 243388 and bottled at 52.5%. Just 235 bottles were filled. Opened in 1927 by the gin distiller Seager Evans on the south bank of the Clyde in Glasgow, Strathclyde is Glasgow's only grain distillery. It is now part of the Chivas Brothers stable, quietly working by the Clyde.

Distilled continuously in twin Coffey stills from wheat, giving a clean, high strength grain whisky. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak that drives the grain's sweetness. Past twenty five years the spirit turns oily and dessert sweet while staying clean. Maturation in ex-Bourbon wood suits the light, sweet grain particularly well. Decades in ex-Bourbon wood turn light grain into a rich, oily whisky. Strathclyde is the only grain distillery in Glasgow, once one of Scotland's whisky cities. It was built by the gin distiller Seager Evans in 1927 on the site of an old cotton mill.

At its natural 52.5% it is concentrated. The ex-Bourbon gives vanilla, cream and a dessert sweetness. The texture is oily and buttery, the sweetness coating. The finish runs buttery, soft and warm. This is a clean, oily single grain of real age.