Speyburn distillery has a pretty classic core range, starting with Bradan Orach and then a 10 yo, 15 yo and a 18 yo expression which arrived later. They also offer a travel retail range which consists of the Hopkins Reserve, 10 yo and the Speyburn 16 Year Old.
This release matures in standard ex-bourbon barrels and focuses on the sweetness and fruits of the Speyside heritage. Hardly any unique selling points, but we’ll see.
Speyburn 16 yo (43%, OB +/- 2024, travel retail)
Nose: really juicy, with bright fruity notes (peach, crisp apple, banana) and creamy vanilla. Then back to pears and quite a lot of banana aromas. Honeysuckle. Mild (youngish) oak comes out after a while, with a light gingery edge, faint waxy hints and some green tea. Quite balanced.
Mouth: sweet and round, with a similar creaminess of bourbon oak, as well as more gritty spice – white pepper, cinnamon and ginger. Sweet pear, hints of caramel, some porridge and orange peels. Very, very middle-of-the-road on the palate.
Finish: medium, with fresh oak, ginger, peaches and vanilla.
Very average flavours here, not much to get excited about. However, for the same price you’ll only get a 10-12 year old single malt from other distilleries, so it shouldn’t be pushed aside right away. Theoretically only in travel retail, but also available from other retailers like Whiskysite.nl.