One of my favourite vloggers is Roy Duff. He consistently puts out excellent material under Aquavitae.
For the couple of years ago, Roy has been raving about Speyburn 15 – a wonderful dram at an affordable price. So when I saw it on special at Whisky Live Tel Aviv back in September 2023 – seems like a decade ago – I snapped up the opportunity.
The distillery is situated just outside the heart of the Speyside region. Its name is a combination of the River Spey and also the word ‘burn’ in Gaelic means a river. It took barely a year to construct in the last years of the 19th century.
Although the place received a royal endorsement in 1991 and then in 2015 underwent a significant investment in the infrastructure, the distillery is not one that is often spoken about. Yet its production capacity at pushing 5 million litres annually is no small amount.
So what is so special about the 15 year old?
To begin with, it ticks the main boxes:
- 46% – no added colouring – and not chill filtered. Brilliant.
- Packaging – easy to handle box, interesting colouring – no BS descriptions, but useful info to the geek and general public.
Nose: Some dark fruits, spices, little peppery
Palate: Plums, raisins, but not sweet. Not to be rushed. You may like to add a couple of drops of water.
Finish: Definitely to be drunk in a comfortable chair, with friends around you, winter’s night
Would I buy this again? This is not something that I normally go for, but yes…. When the time comes, I will consider replacing the empty bottle
