Blind Tasting #16: Speyside Distillery 1991 25 Years Old (Cadenhead)
Speyside Distillery is one of those anonymous distilleries. To me at least. They tried to change that by hiring Michael Owen as spokes person, but that didn’t pan out. Also, their name is a bit unlucky, as it can cause quite a bit confusion. Plus, are they really Speyside?
Officially, yes. The Scotch Whisky Association recognizes them as a Speyside distillery. But take a look at a map, and it makes little less. They are on the banks of the River Spey, I give ’em that. But why are Tomatin and Royal Brackla officially Highland malts then? To my eye those two seem closer to Speyside than the actual Speyside Distillery.
Anyway, I guess I’m happy the Speyside Distillery is categorized the way it is, because at least I picked up 20 points that way in the Blind Tasting Competition.
Speyside Distillery 1991 25 Years Old (51%, Cadenhead, 624 bts.)
Nose: Very fresh with apple cider, white grapes and a hint of peach and pickled lemon. A whisper of straw, honey and porridge, as well as some feint cardboard notes and wood glue. Finally some floral notes. Interesting stuff, in a good way.
Taste: Creamy stuff and well-balanced. A soft menthol flavour, feint spices (white pepper, cinnamon), lime and sweet barley.
Finish: Ending on feint grassy notes, but also some more of fruitiness. Long.
Rating: 88
A good, fruity, clean, mature whisky. Recommended, and (probably because of the lesser known producer) still available.
Photo: Master of Malt
Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.
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