As we continue to work our way towards the distillery sample finish line, Paul graciously sent this Speysider from (ironically enough): Glen Spey. This 12 year old sample was from an independent bottler, Berry Bros & Rudd. It hits the ABV sweet spot of 46%, is American light beer, pale yellow in color and makes lots of long, skinny legs in the taster. There’s no added color and it’s non-chill filtered. The nose is seriously woody: raw, fresh cut oak or pine, baby saplings with a little bit of lemon and cracked pepper. The key adjective would be: Youthful. The palate echoes the nose and adds a bit of minerality. It’s somewhat sharp and tin-like while staying surprisingly smooth, especially for 46%. It maintains a bit of an oily feel until the finish. Speaking of finish- it’s medium in length that turns from oily to dry quite quickly. There’s no aspect of heat or alcohol burn whatsoever. Overall, it’s boring. I can see why most of Glen Spey’s whisky goes into blends, I just don’t really know what they may add unless there’s extensive barrel finishing from the other malts used in the blend. At 12 years of age I would expect something other than intrinsic smoothness, but I think that’s where this one falls short. There’s no risk taking at Glen Spey and, well- what’s the fun in that? Thanks again to @Generously_Paul for dropping down his hard earned money for the greater good, let’s just keep our eye on the finish line shall we? Cheers.