Fettercairn Vanguard Single Malt

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 46.3% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Vanguard 1st Release launches Fettercairn’s Vanguard series as a limited small-batch bottling and continues the work of the Scottish Oak Programme. The spirit distilled on 28 February 2008 initially matured for 14 years in first-fill ex-bourbon casks. It then spent two years in specially crafted hybrid casks combining American oak staves with heavily toasted heads made from Scottish Highland oak. The wood for these heads was salvaged from naturally wind-felled trees, and the casks were created in collaboration with Speyside Cooperage.

After the second maturation phase, the whisky was married with an eight-year-old component from hand-selected first-fill ex-bourbon casks. The 14-year figure therefore refers only to the older component, not to the age of the finished composition. The hybrid casks complement Fettercairn’s tropical fruit style with vanilla and warming wood spices. This distillery bottling is non-chill-filtered, contains no added colour and is bottled at 46.3% in a 0.7-litre bottle.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose combines warm blossom honey, ripe pineapple and Alphonso mango with fresh raspberry and delicate baking spices.
• Palate: On the palate, grilled pineapple, mango and dried apricot give way to vanilla pod and cereal notes.
• Finish: The finish lingers with exotic fruit, red berries, warm vanilla and spicy cassia cinnamon.

Distillery/Bottler:

Vanguard is a distillery bottling from Fettercairn Distillery, which belongs to Whyte & Mackay’s brand portfolio. Alexander Ramsay founded the Highland distillery in 1824 at the foot of the Cairngorms. Since the mid-1950s, a copper ring has cooled the outside of the stills with water. This causes heavier vapours to condense sooner, while predominantly lighter vapours rise for further processing—a method that supports the distillery’s tropical fruit house style.

Facts: