Teaninich 13 Years Old 2008 Cask #715735 (Signatory)

Bottled by Signatory Vintage, this Teaninich matured to 13 year old from 2008, drawn from cask 715735 and bottled at 60.3%. 248 bottles in all. Teaninich was built in 1817 in Easter Ross, north of Inverness; it uses a mash filter found nowhere else in Scotch. The mash filter gives an ultra clear wort, the source of its fragrant, green tea grassiness.

The spirit was made from a mash filter wort for a clean, grassy spirit, for a clean, oily make of real freshness. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, with vanilla under the grassy spirit. Mid age brings a deeper honey and a riper green fruit. Most Teaninich is filled into refill ex-Bourbon, letting the make show through. The Cromarty Firth nearby is one of few UK waters home to bottlenose dolphins. A long fermentation of around 75 hours builds the fresh, fruity notes. Filled spirit is tankered away to mature in Diageo's central warehouses.

At a full 60.3% it is intense yet fresh. Vanilla and a light cream from the barrel, with citrus, cut grass and a waxy lift. Soft orchard fruit and grass sit behind the sweetness. The close is fresh, grass over gentle oak. This is the green, waxy malt of Alness.