But anyway… WE’RE BACK!! – and do we have an extremely exciting 2013 coming up for you – starting with Edradour. Yes, Edradour. No, I am not kidding… Edradour! A hand made single malt whisky from the smallest distillery in Scotland. A mere 12 casks are produced weekly. So…say hello to my little friend… the Edradour 10yo.
To put it in perspective, Glenmorangie’s catch line is “the sixteen men of Tain”, Edradour has but three. They will tell you they work 5 times as hard as the bludgers up at Tain…
The Edradour Distillery is situated at Pitlochry in a region of the Southern Highlands known as the Midlands. The name has been used since 1837 and whilst earlier bottlings were sometimes for their great variations in taste and quality, the modern Edradour concentrates on single cask bottlings specifically to embrace and explore such variations – and with great success.
We’ve had to wait until now to taste this whisky, as it so small that we couldn’t even get into the cellar to taste it when we were last in Scotland (although I’ve lost a lot of weight since then, so I should fit next time – Brad).
The nose, the Edradour 10 year old has dried fruits, like apricot and apple. Some Oloroso sherry straight away. There is mentos, kool mint and sugared almonds.
The pallet is immediately prune and dried apricot, but it is not sweet, there is an underlying citrus running through it. The secondary flavours come through as hazelnut, pecan and vanilla.
The spirit is not what I would call clean, or fine cut. There is breadth to the mouth feel that is beyond a narrowly defined spirit. The breadth lends itself to show creamier, butter characteristic with a liquorice undertone. While not a classically clean spirit, it has a roughness that gives it extra character, that “hand made” uniqueness that has enamored Edradour 10yo to so many, despite its rarity, or perhaps because of it.
Nose: fruity, sherry, sweetness, alluring vanilla
Palate: Rum, barley, toasted almonds.
Finish: spiced fruitcake with crème anglaise
DISTILLERS NOTES
Bottle Size : 700ml
ABV : 43% abv
Region : Scotland – Highlands
Peated : Yes
The Edradour 10YO is handmade and one of the last Single Malt Whiskies from a traditional farm distillery still in production today. The methods of production remain virtually unchanged in the last 150 years and are only just capable of commercial quantities. Indeed Edradour Distillery makes as much whisky in a year as most distilleries produce in a week. A rare pleasure for a fortunate few.
Nose: Hints of dried fruits, Oloroso and almonds
Palate: Spicy Christmas cake, sweet golden syrup with a touch of honeyed almonds. A distinctive, old fashioned, rich mouth feel coming from the small copper farm stills
Finish: Oaky, soft spices, mellow and warming
