Strathclyde 27 Years Old 1990 Cask #6411539 (Duncan Taylor)

Duncan Taylor bottled this Strathclyde single grain, aged 27 year old from 1990, drawn from cask 6411539 and bottled at 53.5%. A release of 158 bottles. 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. Its grain whisky goes into blends such as Long John, Ballantine's and Chivas Regal.

Distilled continuously in twin Coffey stills from wheat, giving a clean, high strength grain whisky. A sherry cask wrapped the sweet grain in dried fruit and a nutty depth. At this age it is rich and waxy, the sweet grain folded into a buttery, oily body. Light grain spirit takes oak readily, the ex-Bourbon lending coconut and vanilla. 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 53.5%, undiluted, it is deep and sweet. The Oloroso brings dried fruit and a nutty depth over the sweet grain. A crème brûlée and a polished oak give it depth. The finish runs buttery, soft and warm. This is Strathclyde's sweet, oily single grain.