Side by side: A Pair From Speyburn

@SpeyburnWhisky is a very much under the radar distillery - at least in the UK. It's a huge seller in the US, especially as a lower end supermarket range.

I've not tried many, so here's a look at two of the core range:

Speyburn distillery was founded in 1897 by brothers John and Edward Hopkins with the first new make slowing off the still in December of that year. The distillery was designed by Charles C Doig, responsible for 56 other Scottish distilleries, and incorporated a Doig ventilator, incorrectly called a “pagoda” on the top of the kiln chimney to improve the draw-off of  smoke when drying the malted barley.

In 1916 the distillery was owned by Distillers Company Ltd. and continued distilling apart from a couple of periods of closure during the wars. In 1962 ownerships transferred to Scotch Malt Distillers, and then to United Distillers in 1986. In 1991 Inver House Distillers acquired the distillery and still run it to this day. In 2001 they were acquired by Thai based International Beverage Holdings Ltd.

The distillery sits in a narrow valley so in some places is three stories high to house the maltings. Up until 1967 the distillery made use of drum maltings, the first distillery to do so. They now buy their malt in.

You can still see the drums at the distillery, they just aren't used anymore.

A 6 tonne wooden semi lauter copper dome topped mash tun fills four 25,000 litre Douglas Fir and fifteen 35,000 litre stainless steel washbacks, the latter added in a 2016 expansion) with lightly peated wash for a relatively short 48 hour fermentation.

An unusual combination of a 17,500 litre wash still charging two 15,500 litre spirit stills (the 2nd being added in the 2016 expansion), all with wide necks to promotes reflux, and the use of traditional worm tub condensers, creates a thick sulphurous new make casked at a higher than average 69.3% ABV.

Due to limited space Speyburn mature some of their whisky offsite and some in the pair of onsite dunnage warehouses.

Let's see how these dram taste:

Dram	10yo	15yo
Characteristics	40% ABV	46% ABV
Distillery notes	Speyburn 10 years old single malt is matured in a combination of American Oak ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Nose: Fresh, clean with a hint of lemon. Taste: Medium bodied with hints of toffee & butterscotch and a long, sweet finish. A global favourite, Speyburn 10 years old is ever the crowd-pleaser.	Fifteen years maturing in American oak and Spanish oak casks have allowed this bold whisky to embrace the rich, natural elements of Speyside.  Nose: Hints of rich dark chocolate with spicy notes of raisins, zesty citrus fruits and vanilla. Taste:  On the palate there are notes of oranges, toffee, vanilla and leather, all wrapped together with a gentle spice. The long lasting finish has a warming spice which is sweet and creamy.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as thick lines, quickly form large beads and fall as thick quick legs.	Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as thin lines, slowly bead to and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	Apricots, milk chocolate and a little honey to start. a little time and air offers marzipan and pear notes with a little lemon zest.	A much 'thicker' smelling dram, milk chocolate covered raisins, brown sugar and toffee. Like it's younger sibling it has some lovely poached pear, marzipan and citrus notes.
Palate	Smooth sweet arrival, the honey and juicy fruit from the the nose are here followed by a nice bite of cinnamon spice. A few more sips and the fruit turns a little more tropical with pineapple and kiwi, there's a little herbal note and then it's back on the spice.	Thick syrupy arrival, toffee, honey and oak notes leave a dryness in the mouth. There's some marzipan, sour citrus, milk chocolate and dried fruits. It all finishes with a big bite of peppery spice as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Medium length, fruit, honey and spice.	Lingering peppery spice, citrus and honey.
Overall	I was pleasantly surprised by the 10yo, I wasn't expecting much from a 40% ABV dram but what this lacked in ABV and mouthfeel it delivered in flavour and complexity. This would be huge at 46% NCF. The 15yo is at 46% ABV and it delivered on the palate - much thicker, more of a sherry influence and more spice. Maybe too much citrus, grapefruit turning it a little sour. I enjoyed both drams, the 10yo probably the better of the two but as I said I think it would be better at 46% ABV NCF.

Many thanks to @uk_whisky for the 10yo sample swap. The 15yo came as part of my subscription to @whisky_me_

Under the radar!