Tamnavulin 12 Years Old 2013 Cask #111516 (Keeble Cask Company Ltd.)

Bottled by Keeble Cask Company Ltd, this Tamnavulin, aged 12 year old from 2013, drawn from cask 111516 and bottled at 60%. 195 bottles in all. Tamnavulin was established in 1966 in Glen Livet, beneath the Cairngorms; it was relaunched as a single malt in 2016. Purifiers on the spirit stills keep only the lightest vapours, for a delicate spirit.

Distilled on limestone filtered spring water for a delicate make, building the smooth Speyside style it is loved for. Maturation came in American oak, with vanilla under the orchard fruit. Younger here, it keeps a clean, grassy freshness over light honey. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, the wood adding much of the character. Purifiers on the spirit stills keep only the lightest vapours, for a delicate spirit. Water is drawn from the Easterton Spring, filtered through limestone. The distillery is now owned by the Philippine Emperador group through Whyte and Mackay.

At 60%, undiluted, it is deep and honeyed. Meadow flowers and ripe fruit meet honeyed oak sweetness underneath. Soft orchard fruit and vanilla sit behind the sweetness. Apple, honey and oak draw out the close. This is an easy going, fruity Speyside malt.