Looks like it's been a month since my last post. More for busy reasons than lazy ones, but I've been meaning to get this next one out for a while now. Pleasantly surprised reviews are the most fun to write.
After the holidays, my home bar had gotten standing-room-only full of bourbons, ryes, moonshines, etc. All of them gifts. Nobody tries to pick out scotch for me anymore. Sometime around St. Patrick's Day (naturally), I finally polished off my Glendalough 'Triple Barrel' Irish Whiskey, and a spot opened up for a new single malt to move in.
Have you ever been to the ABC store just before St. Patrick's Day? Did a truck not show up or something? The scotch aisle had been decimated, and I wasn't thrilled with its leftover prospects. I eyed over the top two shelves a few times. Everything there was either something I'd already tried, too expensive (damn you, Mortlach!), or just flat sold out (damn you, Tamdhu!). I was about to leave empty handed when I decided to make one more pass, this time two shelves down.
Hidden in plain sight amongst the plastic jug blends were two suspiciously affordable (<$25) single malt brands I had written off for consideration long ago. Many factors can drive up the price of a single malt up in ways I may not be able to detect or appreciate, so I try not to let an inflated price influence my opinion of a malt. It suddenly occurred to me that I was guilty of the reverse - snobbery in my dismissal of single malts I considered too inexpensive to bother tasting.
Hmm...this one I know nothing about. Single malt scotch whisky? Check. Made at an actual distillery? A quick Google search on my phone suggests Speyburn might be "the most photographed distillery in Scotland". Okay then, check. There's even has an age-statement, something lacking in half the malts in this store. So far, so good, but why is it on sale for $24 while every other malt here is over $40 (and most in the $60-80 range)? To this point, my go-to 'bargain' malt had been Old Pulteney 12, $42 this particular visit. Alright, fine - Speyburn 10 it is. Why the hell not?
My expectations were still admittedly low when the cracked the bottle later that evening. The day before I had tasted two knockout malts, BenRiach 15 'Tawny Port Cask Finish' and Kilchoman Machir Bay, each raising the bar considerably. Light in hue, yet somehow dense in its golden color, my dram actually sparkled a bit when the light hit just right. A handsome malt, I'll give it that so far.
On the nose, the Speyburn 10 certainly exuded the freshness and cleanliness of a younger malt. Not to point of bland sterility, but rather a crisp declaration of a simple malt done well. Letting it sit for a few minutes, some citrus zest aromas opened up, compounding the sheer cleanliness of its aromas. Not really any smoke, maybe a hint of spice and fresh cut herbs, but in general the mild sweetness of the malt owns the nose.
Medium bodied malt, quite smooth. This one's an easy drinker, very approachable. Butterscotch sweetness tinged with citrus and vanilla. Background has some raisin flavor and dry cereal (breakfast scotch?). After a few minutes, I thought maybe I could detect some bourbon cask influence, a slightly spicy charcoal note, but a later tastings leaned more towards an anise note. Very subtle either way.
The smoke and oak didn't really register until the finish, and lightly at that. A soft wisp of hardwood smoke and a tannic oaky note were waiting patiently at the end of a long, sweet malty finish. Not too drying, and just enough bitterness to give it a contrasting bite.
I was certainly put Speyburn 10 in a league with some of its (reasonably) pricier Speyside cousins, at the very least deserving a spot on a higher shelf. Other than the raisin note, I didn't get a lot of sherry cask influence, but other than that I was pretty satisfied. The double cask aging didn't seem all that necessary actually, the one extravagance of an otherwise straightforward single malt.
I rather enjoyed tasting such a fundamentally simple malt. As a craft beer fan, it felt like taking a break from all the imperial stouts and double IPAs, and just drinking a damn good lager for once. And for the price? Although maybe not quite a diamond in the rough, it's at least a peridot.
Overall Grade: 82/100. B-
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