Tamdhu 30 Years Old The MacPhail’s (G&M)

This is a Tamdhu single malt, chosen and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, aged 30 year old and bottled at 43%. Set in Knockando, in the heart of Speyside, Tamdhu has distilled since 1897. For decades its malt fed blends such as the Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark.

The spirit was run through the distillery's onion shaped stills, and laid down in Oloroso casks for its sherried depth. An Oloroso sherry cask wrapped the malt in dried fruit and a nutty depth. At this age it is full and sherried, the fruit folded into a deep, nutty body. The full bodied make carries the sherry cask well across long maturation. The Spey valley's cool air gives a slow, even maturation in the warehouses. Tamdhu was built in 1897 by a consortium of blenders led by William Grant. The arrival of the Strathspey railway in the 1860s made the distillery possible. For decades its malt fed blends such as the Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark. Mothballed in 2010, the distillery was revived by Ian Macleod and relaunched in 2013.

Bottled at 43%, it is rounded. The Oloroso brings fig, raisin and a gentle ginger. Beneath it run fig, raisin and a warm spice. It closes long, sherried and warm. This is Ian Macleod's sherry led Speysider.