Teaninich 14 Years Old 2011 Cask #707944 (The Caskhound)

Bottled by The Caskhound, this Teaninich, aged 14 year old from 2011, drawn from cask 707944 and bottled at 52.5%. The outturn was 283 bottles. Teaninich was founded in 1817 by a Napoleonic veteran 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 sherry cask wrapped the light spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. By this age the green spirit rounds into orchard fruit and a waxy depth. Sherry wood suits the light make, lending dried fruit and a nutty depth. Almost all of its make is destined for blends rather than single malt. A hammer mill and mash filter, installed in 2000, replaced the traditional mash tun.

At a hearty 52.5% it carries real weight. The Pedro Ximenez lends raisin, date and treacle, and vanilla and a light cream from the barrel runs under a clean, green fruitiness. A green tea and a lemon note lift it. A grassy, gently spiced finish lingers. This is a fresh, oily Highland single malt.