Strathclyde Batch 2 (TBWC)

This Strathclyde was from the independent bottler That Boutique-y Whisky Company, a 27 year old and bottled at 49.7%. 178 bottles in all. 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. The malt distillery Kinclaith lived inside its walls from 1957 until 1975.

The spirit was run through column stills, an analyser and a rectifier, on Loch Katrine water, to build a soft, sweet grain character. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding coconut, vanilla and toffee. Long ageing brings a deep coconut, toffee and a mellow, polished oak. Patient ageing gives the oily, waxy texture prized in old single grain. 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 hearty 49.7% it carries real weight. The ex-Bourbon gives vanilla, cream and a dessert sweetness. A butterscotch and a creamy oak lift it. It closes long, sweet and oily. This is the light, sweet grain style of Strathclyde.