Speyburn Distillery post-tour masterclass, 2nd May 2024, whisky #4 Nose: Hefty notes of ale, malt, toffee, fudge and vanilla. There's nothing shy or retiring about this nose. Palate: Soft and creamy arrival centred on malt and dried fruits. Buttery vanilla shows up in the development and the whisky progresses into a very sweet character with coconut, peanut brittle and caramel highlighted. These notes are balanced by ginger and walnut skin astringency. The texture is creamy. Finish: Medium. The sweet notes give way to oak, green apple skins and weak black tea. This was a single-cask distillery-door exclusive expression, uncoloured, un-chillfiltered and aged entirely in one ex bourbon barrel (distillery cask #438). The cask was filled in 2012 and disgorged in 2023 producing 264 bottles. Our tasting was from bottle #117. Overall it was a singularly malty whisky, not the most subtle thing I’ve ever tasted but with enormous verve and presence. Although the age is not specified on the bottle (apart from the distillation and bottling years) we were told that this was 10 years old and the profile certainly made me imagine Speyburn’s 10 year old core-range expression on a massive dose of steroids. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)