Some distilleries have such a strong standing with the whisky community that their special releases create a world-wide craze. Others are also well regarded, albeit less talked about. Speyburn Distillery, whose latest single cask bottling I will introduce to you in the following, falls into the latter category. Don’t get me wrong. The Rothes-based unit gets a lot of praise for its spirits, too – and rightfully so. But normally they do not spark the same kind of hoo-ha with their products as, let’s say, The Macallan or Ardbeg. For us drammers, this ain’t no bad thing. After all, it means that we can buy a limited edition from Speyburn without having to worry about flipped bottles, overloaded servers or slim-chance ballots. Take the new Speyburn 14yo Single Cask, for example. It was bottled exclusively for travel retail in the Nordics in an edition of 678 bottles. A couple of days after the official launch, I could still buy my bottle at BorderShop for the regular price (which I consider pretty fair, by the way). And as far as I know, they still have this beauty in stock. So if you are looking for a well-aged, sherry-matured and super-good Scotch from a distillery that tends to get overlooked at times, you are highly recommended to grab this rich Speysider while supply lasts!

by Tobi

Eye: Darkish chestnut.
Nose: Very delicate, aromatic and full. First there is sweet sherry and a lot of soft marzipan. Then oven-warm cookies and sugared currants follow. Raspberry-flavored cough candy adds a fresh component, while shy oak provides some stature. In the back, there is also a drop of elderflower juice and no more than an ounce of spice. All in all, the bouquet is balanced, beautiful and really exciting.
Palate: A rich palate with zesty oranges, mulled wine, strawberry jam and dark roasting flavors. Also a good handful of red and purple wine gums. All notes are aptly interwoven. They bring out the best in each other!
Finish: The aftertaste is smooth and round and of considerable length. The red cough candy is back as the finish’s dominating note. It is joined by mushy fruits and burnt cookies. A great mixture!

Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Region: Speyside
Age: 14 Years
Alc. volume: 52.5 per cent
# of bottles: 678
Bottle size: 0.7 litres
Price range: ~100.00 Euro
More info: https://www.speyburn.com/ (Distillery)