Speyburn 1977/2021 G&M PC Private Collection Cask #6045101

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 59.2% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This Speyburn spent its entire 44-year maturation in a single Refill Sherry Butt. Distilled on 13 September 1977, the single malt remained in cask no. 6045101 until bottling on 17 November 2021. Gordon & MacPhail selected the whisky for the Private Collection and bottled it at its natural cask strength of 59.2%. The cask yielded 414 bottles of 0.7 litres each.

The long maturation in a sherry cask brings more than sweet fruit to this whisky: subtle sherry notes, walnut and cocoa sit alongside honey, dates and spicy orange peel. Ginger gives way to dried tobacco. The whisky was bottled without chill filtration or colouring. The ribbed bottle comes in an oak presentation case.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, subtle sherry aromas meet walnut, ginger and cocoa powder.
• Palate: On the palate, honeyed sweetness combines with Medjool dates and Demerara sugar. Seville orange peel emerges alongside autumnal spice notes.
• Finish: Red apple, black pepper and menthol linger in the long finish.

Distillery/Bottler:

Speyburn was established in 1897 by John Hopkins in a narrow Speyside valley. The Granty Burn, whose water the distillery uses, was decisive in choosing the site. Architect Charles C. Doig adapted the building to the steep terrain: rather than a sprawling complex, he designed a distillery on three levels. The first cask was filled that same year.

Gordon & MacPhail managed the maturation and cask selection for this bottling. Based in Elgin since 1895, the company matches its own casks, made to its specifications, to spirits from Scottish distilleries. This work spans four generations of the Urquhart family and relationships with more than 100 distilleries. For the Private Collection, the directors, including members of the family's third and fourth generations, select long-matured whiskies with distinctive character.

Facts: