SPEY Tenné Cask Strength - 57.4%

 

From the distillery website

A small, hand-built, artisan distillery nestled amongst the foothills of the beautiful Cairngorm Mountains, still hand distilling in time-honoured traditions and widely acknowledged to be amongst the prettiest of all Scotland’s distilleries
Initially aged in bourbon casks, this bottling has been finished in the Tawny Port casks from the family run winery, Quinto de Filoco, for 6 months. A limited release of 1500 individually numbered bottles. Bottled at 57.4%, non chill filtered and with no added colouring.

Tasting Note

On the nose, concentrated fruit notes along with jam & red wine are evident. Despite being bottled at cask strength, the texture is still light, with distinct sweet and fruity flavours in balance, and working well with the higher strength spirit.
Adding a few drops of water unlocks some of the more delicate flavours & aromas, and adds further complexity.

Tasting notes:

Appearance: Copper with a pinkish hue. Forms a thin line, slowly beading then falling as slow thin legs.

Nose: Mixed fruit jam, oranges, brown sugar, slight nuttiness, freshly ground nutmeg.

Palate: Most noticeable at first is the peppery hit of spirit, reminding you this is a high abv bottling. Red fruit jam, tending towards raspberry. Mouthfeel starts light becoming more creamy, as it develops so do dried fruits and a slight tannic astringency. A little water brings out the creaminess and red fruit but also raises the astringency, creating a drying mouthfeel.

Finish: Warm, creamy and lingering, cinnamon and ginger spice.

Summary: I tend to enjoy port finished whiskies, so I was looking forward to trying this bottling with some eagerness. There’s a feeling of youth in this one, and there is the constant reminder of the high abv. It’s fruity to the point of jamminess, and the creamy mouthfeel that develops is very welcome.

Addition of water does bring out the more delicate fruit notes, but the downside is that it also increases the tannic astringency creating a very drying experience. This may well be one of those whiskies that needs a fair amount of time in the glass to really get the best from.

If you would like more information on SPEY malts, or the Speyside distillery, follow the link to the company website 

This sample was part of a 5 dram tasting pack highlighting the current SPEY range as part of a #TweetTasting session organised by @TheWhiskyWire and the Speyside distillery.

Transparency: this sample was received free of charge for independent review. The author has no affiliation with the distillers and no goods or other incentives were exchanged, offered or requested.