Edradour is the smallest distillery in Scotland, at only three employees historically - and now only two. Owned by Signatory, it produces only a few expressions - but the 10 Year is worth notice. I absolutely loved this bottle, and am dying to try their other expressions, but many of them top of the $100 mark, making them rare birds in my household.
Ten years aged, this is one of those sneaky whiskies that tastes twice that. Chill-filtered, but there is a non-chill-filtered variety available. 40% ABV. Sherry bomb.
Nose: A wide variety of dried and sour fruit. Tremendously complex. Plum, pear, grape, apple, sherry fruits (raisins, rum raisins), vanilla notes, wet Madagascar vanilla, and a nice musky woodland note mixed in with the rest. There is more here that I'm not catching, I'm sure of it. This reminds me of a successful version of the Hakushu 12 Year profile ... everything gels perfectly together.
Mouthfeel: Resonant, oily, succulent.
Palate: Deep fruit, this is the way a sherried whisky should arrive. I went through a very long, strong sherry phase before I discovered Scotch, which of course was a tremendous boon to my ability to recognize flavors. This is classic amontillado sherry - medium body, rich fruit, both sweet and dry with what seems like spiced rum all down the line. Some light cereal notes provide the ship that sails on deep sherry seas. The fruit manages to be both bright and dark at the same time. And, of course, fortified wine comes in at the end.
Finish: The fruit changes!! Edradour takes off its apple pear plum mask and dons a new one - cherry, peach pits, a hint of smoke, and a hint of old, old wood. Just magical. I'll be buying this again.
Verdict: Highly recommended. My whisky friend Rob immediately identified this as a winner, and I agree. This is rich, deep, mature, and almost criminally insane in the way it masquerades as a 10 year while pulling off the flavors of an 18-20 year.
Link to the Edradour site for the 10 Year: http://www.edradour.com/index.php/taste2/
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