Tamnavulin 30 Years Old 1977 Cask #DL 3947 (Douglas Laing)

This Tamnavulin was from the independent bottler Douglas Laing, aged 30 year old from 1977, drawn from cask DL 3947 and bottled at 50%. Just 210 bottles were filled. Tamnavulin was opened in 1966 during the whisky boom in the Livet glen of Speyside; it makes a light, fruity Speyside malt. It stands on the site of a 16th century carding mill; the name means mill on the hill, and the old water wheel survives.

The spirit was run through purifier stills on soft Easterton Spring water, to build a clean, orchard fruit character. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the fruit. Beyond twenty years the malt grows deep and honeyed, dried fruit and oak spice over orchard fruit. The purifiers lift only the lightest vapours, giving a clean, fruity spirit. For decades the malt fed the Whyte and Mackay blends rather than single malt. Mothballed in 1995, the distillery reopened in 2007 and launched its single malt in 2016.

At a hearty 50% it carries real weight. A light, fruity sweetness meet soft vanilla and honey from the cask. Beneath it run apple, honey and a soft spice. Apple, honey and oak draw out the close. This is a light, fruity Speyside single malt.