Teaninich 10 Years Old 2010 Port Finish (Heaven of Malts)

Bottled by Heaven of Malts, this Teaninich, aged 10 year old from 2010 and bottled at 44.9%. Only 360 bottles were released. Teaninich was built in 1817 in Easter Ross, north of Inverness; it uses a mash filter found nowhere else in Scotch. Teaninich is Diageo's third largest distillery, and almost all its make goes to blends.

The spirit was made from a mash filter wort for a clean, grassy spirit, for a clean, oily make of real freshness. A wine cask held it, layering berry fruit over the grassy malt. At a youthful age the green tea and citrus run bright. A patient maturation suits the light, grassy Teaninich character. The River Averon runs beside the distillery on its way to the firth. A long fermentation builds the fresh, green fruit the blenders prize. A 2013 expansion added a new six still house, more than doubling capacity. Most casks are refill ex-Bourbon, which lets the grassy spirit show through.

At 44.9% it is supple and grassy. The Port cask adds plum and red berry, and vanilla and a light cream from the barrel, with citrus, cut grass and a waxy lift. It is fresh and clean, the green spirit shining through. It closes clean, grassy and waxy. This is the green, waxy malt of Alness.