Strathclyde 30 Years Old 1993 Cask #243315 (Finn Thomson)

From Finn Thomson comes this Strathclyde, a 30 year old from 1993, drawn from cask 243315 and bottled at 54.8%. Just 158 bottles were filled. Strathclyde was founded in 1927 by Seager Evans by the Clyde in the Gorbals, and it still makes grain whisky for the big blends. Twin Coffey stills run on wheat, with water drawn from Loch Katrine.

The spirit was made in twin Coffey stills, the wash run from wheat, for a clean, sweet grain make of real purity. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding coconut, vanilla and toffee. Beyond twenty five years the grain grows deep and oily, coconut, butterscotch and crème brûlée over polished oak. Years in the cask deepen the toffee and crème brûlée notes of aged grain. Strathclyde takes its name from the old region around Glasgow. 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.

Undiluted at 54.8%, it is layered. The ex-Bourbon gives toffee, vanilla and a soft oil. It is soft and deep, the grain and oak well matched. A long, oily finish carries a coconut lift. This is a rare single grain from the Clyde.