Speyside Flashcards
BALVENIE
DoubleWood
AGED 12 YEARS
The Balvenie DoubleWood is a 12 year old single malt which gains its distinctive character from being matured in two wood types. Over the period of maturation it is transferred from a traditional oak whisky cask to a first fill European oak sherry cask. Each stage lends different qualities to the resulting single malt ~ the traditional casks soften and add character, whilst the sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavour.
TASTING NOTES
NOSE
Sweet fruit and Oloroso sherry notes, layered with honey and vanilla.
TASTE
Smooth and mellow with beautifully combined flavours ~ nutty sweetness, cinnamon spiciness and a delicately proportioned layer of sherry.
FINISH
Long and Warming
BALVENIE
Caribbean Cask
AGED 14 YEARS
Caribbean Cask has been matured in traditional oak whisky casks for 14 years, and then ‘finished’ in casks that previously held Caribbean rum.
To create the ideal finish, Malt Master David Stewart filled American oak casks with his own blend of select West Indian rums. When he judged the casks to be ready, the rum was replaced with the 14 year old spirit and the wood was put to work adding the final touches.
The result is an exceptional single malt whisky with the traditional smooth, honeyed character of The Balvenie, married with notes of toffee and a hint of fruit, with a warm, lingering finish.
TASTING NOTES
NOSE
Rich, sweet and creamy toffee on the nose combines with fresh fruit notes
TASTE
Rounded with vanilla and sweet oak notes, with a fruity character that develops with time
FINISH
Soft and lingering
Cardhu 12
A well-balanced, gentle single malt from Speyside. Cardhu 12 is a very well put together malt.
Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt
Nose: Good body, decent sweetness, richness. Streaks of smoke, apple peels, bruised pears.
Palate: Smooth, rounded, gentle sweetness, soft peat. A little smoke whispers sweet nothings.
Finish: Long, dry smoky, malty touch of peat.
Cragganmore 12
A sherried 12 year old single malt from Diageo’s Classic Malts range, this bottling from the Cragganmore distillery represents Speyside and proffers a rich, slightly floral whisky with barley notes.
Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt
Nose: Aromatic, floral. Heather, fruit salad, creamy texture. Smoked almonds, stemmy hay.
Palate: Rich, honey, stone fruits, chestnuts, walnuts, almonds. Berries.
Finish: Smoky, good length, delicate peppery spice.
Glenrothes Select Reserve
A non vintage from the Glenrothes distillery, selected by the Glenrothes Malt Master, John Ramsay. Select Reserve is a great value for money single malt, it exhibits the wonderful spicy house style.
Glenfiddich 12
This classic Speyside from Glenfiddich was the Winner of a Gold Medal at the 2007 International Wine and Spirit Competition, aged for 12 years in American and European Oak casks.
The Glenlivet 12
The entry level bottling from the illustrious Glenlivet distillery at Speyside’s heart, aged for 12 years. The archetypal Speyside dram, honey and orchard fruit driven.
Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt
Nose: Sweet creamy vanilla, honey, pineapple, vanilla, pressed apples and a little cinnamon.
Palate: Apple cores, fresh and fruity trifle and creamy citrus.
Finish: Long and delicious, almonds and apple.
Overall: One of the best selling malts in the world, well-worth re-visiting.
Glenlivet Nàdurra 16
Another batch of Glenlivet’s wonderful Nàdurra single malt Scotch whisky has arrived, in all its non-chill-filtered goodness! Batch 1214E comes presented at 60.2% ABV and was bottled without any of that chill-filtration in late 2014.
The Glenlivet 18
This excellent 18 year old single malt from Glenlivet is a classic Speyside dram, it also won two golds at the International Wine and Spirits Competition.
Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt
The nose is quite big and well-rounded. There are notes of chewy sultanas and sherried peels, barley sugars and toasty cereals with petals and apple blossom. A touch of fudge and gentle wisps of smoke. The palate is full and rich with notes of chewy, tannic oak. Manuka honey and walnut with Cox’s apples and orange peels. Cut herbs; fennel and spearmint. The finish is long and dry with a spicy oak note.
The Glenlivet Archive 21
A Gold Medal Winner at the 2005, 2006 and 2007 International Wine & Spirit Competition, the 2002 International Spirits Challenge and a Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. This is a well-regarded 21 year old from Glenlivet.
Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt
The nose is quite full and rich. There are notes of sandalwood and pine with a resinous note. Potpourri creeps in with barley sugar and cereal notes with acacia honey. The palate is rich and full. There are notes of oily walnuts and winter fruitcake with spice and sugar. There is a golden syrup note. The finish is long and sweet with a soft, chewy oak.
Strathspey
Strathspey (Scottish Gaelic, Srath Spè) is the area around the strath of the River Spey, Scotland, in both the Moray council area and the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area of Highland.
The term Strathspey usually refers to the upper part of the strath from the source of the Spey down to the capital, Grantown-on-Spey, whereas the anglicised form, Speyside, refers to the area from Grantown-on-Spey to the mouth of the river at Spey Bay. Recently there has been some controversy over attempts to anglicise the name into Spey Valley. The tourist area from the south starts at Dalwhinnie and continues North along the A9 towards Newtonmore, Kingussie, Aviemore and on towards Grantown-on-Spey. The Canadian merchant Robert Simpson, founder of Simpson’s department store, was born here in 1834. Speyside is one of the main centres of the Scotch whisky industry, with a high concentration of single malt distilleries in the region, including the Glenfiddich distillery and the Balvenie distillery.
