Stronachie 10 Year Old (43%, A. D. Rattray, 2018)

• Category: Speyside single malt scotch whisky
• Origin:  Benrinnes distillery
• Bottling: A. D. Rattray
• ABV: 43%
• Cost: £32.84

What they say

Stronachie, one of the legendary names in the archive of vanished distilleries, lives on with this Highland Single Malt.

Decades after the Stronachie Distillery closed, we acquired a bottle of original 1904 Stronachie at an auction… one of only four bottles left in existence. A small sample of whisky was drawn from this bottle, tasted and compared to samples from other Highland malt whiskies.

We revived the delicate style, character and flavour of Stronachie by using spirit from Benrinnes Distillery. Like the original, Benrinnes is located in a remote, high altitude wilderness. The new make spirit is matured in ex-bourbon or sherry casks before bottling in small batches as 10 year old Stronachie Single Malt.

Get your tongue around this…

Stronachie is pronounced Stron-a-key. In Gaelic, the name means ‘prominent nose’ or ‘headland in the valley’.

Stronachie 10 Year Old has been matured exclusively in bourbon casks, creating a perfectly balanced and seductive dram.

Official tasting notes:

• Colour: Straw gold.
• Nose: Soft honey, earthy heather and malty sweetness.
• Palate: Smooth with luscious honey and biscuits, then lingering pepper and cereal notes.
• Finish: A perfectly balanced and seductive dram.

What I say

Sampled during the A.D. Rattray tweet tasting #ADRattray hosted by Steve at The Whisky Wire on 10th September 2018.

Stronachie is distilled at Benrinnes distillery in Speyside and matured for a minimum of 10 years in ex-bourbon casks before bottling by A.D. Rattray whisky.

My tasting notes:

• Appearance: Chardonnay (6/20), medium tears leave finer legs.
• Nose: Deeper, malty, golden syrup and light honey, flapjacks, pear juice, vanilla and chantilly cream, banana split
• Taste: Hazelnut and almond, almond flour/frangipane like making a Bakewell tart, vanilla, egg custard with cinnamon, cereal barley, golden syrup flapjacks, ginger spice sweetened with pineapple juice.
• Finish: Long, creamy, vanilla and ginger, sour oak pervades the palate from the edges

Overall

A great base or standard Benrinnes expression, and nice to sample something only matured in Bourbon casks. Plenty of room for distillery/spirit character to play here to great effect.

Score 82/100

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