1996 Bourbon Cask From The Speyside Distillery

In the coming weeks we will be releasing a Bourbon Cask and Sherry Butt from The Speyside Distillery. We acquired the casks from an intriguing source and they were distilled in 1994 and 1996.

The Speyside distillery was founded near Kingussie in 1956 within the Cairngorm Mountains of Northern Speyside. Although the distillery was built in the modern era and represents one of Scotland’s newest distilleries they use traditional Whisky production practices and the distillery itself can only produce relatively small amounts of Whisky on a yearly basis.  Taking its water from The Tromie river, the distillery is the closest distillery to the famous River Spey’s headwaters, where so many of Speyside’s plentiful distilleries take their water from.

The Speyside Distillery is famous as being a distillery built on one man’s dream. That dream belonged to a submarine captain named George Christie. Mr Christie bought the land in 1956 and built the distillery himself but it was not until 1990 the distillery first produced Single Malt Whisky. The casks distilled in the early years of the distillery’s foundation are not without controversy, a High Court case in 2004 brought to light a separate enterprise’s fraudulent sale of Grandtully Whisky. Outside this realm of controversy, the casks themselves which have been matured independently are now coming into perfect maturation.

The Bourbon filled cask is a little slice of sweet America

The Bourbon cask was filled with spirit distilled June 1996 and bottled at natural cask strength in August 2016. We are bottling 108 bottles at the natural cask strength 54.3% alcohol, with no colouring or chill filtering.

This light desert dram is an intriguing olive gold colour. 

Nose – fresh and fruity with hints of buttery shortbread

Palate – Sweet vanilla with honey melon and toffee

Finish – a long lingering finish of lemon cheesecake

Advance orders to be presented shortly