Edradour Straight From the Cask Sherry Butt 10 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (500ml)

For those who like their whiskies pure and intense.

Over the last few years, a consistent performer in the Edradour line up and proof that these guys are nitpicking sherry casks. Bottled straight from the cask and non chill-filtered. Comes in a traditional wooden case. Note: cask number and ABV may vary.

Previous batch tasted 3/02/2018 As with other quality sherried malts, this needs time to open up. If your underwhelmed at first, give it 20-30 minutes to blow off the wafts of alcohol and you’re in for quite a hit. Tasted without water, it’s slightly drier, more bittersweet and tannic than the previous batch. It all happens at the finish with a saturate of sweet dried fruits, cocoa and liquorice root. The length is impressive but even better after ample air contact. Best with water. For those who like their whiskies pure and intense. 94 points 59.3% Alc./ Vol. 971 bottles.

Previous batch tasted 7/01/2017 [Sherry butt #273] Beaming deep copper colour. Fresh raisin toast with a touch of cinnamon. Air contact further accents the raisin fruits with superb purity. More dried apricot and fig after five minutes edges the bouquet towards heavier-styled XO Cognac. Amazingly creamy on entry. The middle stage offers outstanding concentration; barely bittersweet with raisin infused toffee, dark chocolate and intensifying spices. Finish is lean, brittle, drying, cocoa-laced and long. 59.9% Alc./Vol. 95 points

Previous batch tasted Jan 2017 (Sherry Butt #118): Deep polished copper colour. Once past the alcoholic lift the nose is jam-packed: redolent of plum pudding, ginger biscuit, cinnamon, vanilla wafer. Five minutes ups the freshness with unexpected butter menthol / peppermint before the sweet spice and fruit pudding notes return. The controlled attack is thick with Sherry: A deluge of Christmas pudding and bittersweet spice with impressive length. Thins out slightly before the sugars bounce back in the aftertaste. Cracking stuff. Only 915 bottles produced. Distilled 25th May 2005. Matured in Sherry Butt No. 118 and bottled 28th March 2016. 61.4% Alc./Vol. 96 points

Earlier batch tasted 2013:
Deep gold, almost copper in colour with a pale straw hue. Powerful aromas of sweet malt, ripe mandarin and plum pudding followed by marmalade and wholemeal. Hints of ginger and spice in the background. A nose that changes as the whisky spends time in the glass, achieving levels of intensity rarely experienced from the Highlands. Entry quickly builds into spice-driven bursts of heavy malt, ripe citrus and orange cake. Chewy, plush and spicy. Citrus, cocoa and pepper heat follow on the finish. Slightly numbing to the mouth at cask strength, but immensely appealing whisky exhibiting intensity, complexity, mouthfeel and balance, all in check. A stunning release from Scotland's smallest distillery. 58.1% Alc./Vol.