Speyburn 15 Year

A complex, Single Malt Scotch Whisky by Speyburn Distillery in Speyside, Scotland aged for a minimum of 15 years in American oak & Spanish oak casks. It has an aromatic birth with hints of dark chocolate, notes of spices, vanilla, marmalade, sawdust, cacao nibs, stroopwafel dipped in coffee, citrus & raisins; while a rich & spicy life adds notes of citrus, toffee, vanilla, honeyed barley, Tunnock's Caramel Wafers, lemon meringue, smoke & leather; that led to a long & creamy death with notes of brown sugar, honeycomb, dried banana chips, caramel, apple cider, flamed orange peel & pear. June 2020 / September 2022

I definitely like the dripping bramble of the 18 better (the virgin oak is noticeable here without being overly dominant), but is it worth the extra $50? I think it is, but i feel most won't. This is very good, especially for the price. It gives you similar to better quality as plenty of other 15 year options that are $20-40 more.

Speyburn Distillery post-tour masterclass, 2nd May 2024, whisky #2 Nose: Herbal, grassy, leafy, stewed black tea, wet wood, dates, mustard and treacle. It’s a hefty and “determined” nose. Palate: The arrival is sweeter than you might expect but it turns dry in the later palate as walnut skins, dark chocolate, orange marmalade and other sweet but simultaneously bitter flavours dominate. There are vanilla, raisins and Christmas cake spices as well which balance the palate. The texture is full but surprisingly not heavy. Finish: Long. Dark fruits and oily roasted nuts with a spicy and tannic edge. Very different to the OB 10 year old which is sweet, fruity and drenched in vanilla. This expression has a grippy sherry oak finish which adds cocoa, tannin and walnut skin characteristics in addition to dark fruits. It was also greatly improved by generous dilution (in my opinion) which balanced out the dry characteristics with dark sugars. It was very popular at the tasting session but although it has lots of character and is excellently made it did not particularly appeal to me (I preferred the 10 and 18 year expressions). It was somewhat reminiscent of Glenfarclas 15 which is a good thing, but then again that whisky is my least favourite Glenfarclas. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)