Strathclyde 36 Years Old 1977 Cask #HL 9912 (The Sovereign)

Bottled by Hunter Laing, this Strathclyde matured to 36 year old from 1977, drawn from cask HL 9912 and bottled at 58.1%. Strathclyde was opened in 1927 by the gin distiller Seager Evans on an old cotton mill site in Glasgow; Chivas Brothers run it today. Built first for neutral grain spirit for gin, it entered whisky with the Long John brand in 1936.

The spirit was run through column stills, an analyser and a rectifier, on Loch Katrine water, to build a soft, sweet grain character. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, American oak giving coconut and toffee. At this great age the grain is full and waxy, the sweetness deep and the oak mellow. Patient ageing gives the oily, waxy texture prized in old single grain. Glasgow once held distilleries across the city; today only Strathclyde remains. Aged single grain has become prized for its soft, oily, dessert sweet character. The continuous still gives a clean, high strength spirit that mellows with years.

At a natural 58.1% it is full and oily. The ex-Bourbon gives coconut, toffee and crème brûlée. It is clean and sweet, the grain spirit shining through. Crème brûlée and oak draw out the close. This is a single grain from Glasgow's only grain distillery.