Strathisla 8 Years Old Finest Highland Malt Pinerolo Import (G&M)

This Strathisla was from the independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail, an 8 year old release and bottled at 57%. Set in Keith, on the River Isla in Speyside, Strathisla has distilled since 1786. Its twin pagodas and water wheel make it one of the prettiest distilleries in Scotland.

It was worked through short pot stills for a rich, fruity make, for the rich, fruity Speyside make Strathisla is known for. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the fruit. Still young, the malt is honeyed and fruity with a creamy lift. Decades in oak build a waxy, honeyed depth over the fruity spirit. Few distilleries can claim an unbroken run of distilling as long as Strathisla's. The Isla valley's soft water and old stills shape a honeyed, fruity spirit. Strathisla is the oldest continuously working distillery in the Scottish Highlands, founded in 1786.

At 57%, undiluted, it is deep and honeyed. Ripe orchard fruit and a gentle ginger sit alongside a quiet vanilla from the refill oak. It is rounded and full, the fruity spirit shining through. The close is warm, fruit over soft oak. This is the malt of Scotland's oldest working Highland distillery.