1995 Berry Bros & Rudd Speyside Distillery 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Attention Sherry heads!

Every whisky lover knows Speyside as Scotland's single malt hub. However the name is also shared by a relatively quiet little distillery located at the Southern edge of the Speyside region. Virtually unheard of as a single malt, the Speyside Distillery opened in 1991. Founder, George Christie never intended to produce large volumes, as demonstrated by the size of the stills which are among the smallest in Scotland at just 500,000 litres per year. Obviously the focus here is on quality. Official bottlings have fallen into the ‘brilliant’ category in Jim Murray’s 2020 Whisky Bible. This indie edition ranks as one of the oldest expressions to hit the market. Berry Brothers notes say to expect dried fruits with an abundance of citrus and nutty aromas followed by brittle toffee, bitter almond and orange zest on the palate. Non chill filtered.

Other reviews... I am agog... Usually I end the working tasting day with a sherry-matured malt as 49 times out of 50 my palate will have been addled by sulphur and I have an evening and a night to remove the taste. Not so with this bottling: I will have to find another malt. Is is entirely free from brimstone? Not exactly, but the trace sulphur is manageable. My main moan is that I would have preferred to have seen this at a minimum 50%ABV.
94 points - Jim Murrays Whisky Bible 2020