SPEY 12 YO

SPEY 12 YO, 40%

Another review of the range SPEY from the Speyside Distillery. We have previously reviewed the SPEY Chairman’s Choice and SPEY Tenné.

A couple of weeks ago I went to a whisky and beer tasting here in Bergen, Norway. The whiskies presented were BenRiach 10 YO, SPEY 12 YO, Amrut Naarangi, BenRiach Curiositas and The Ileach Cask Strength. Seeing as all the others have been reviewed here at Whisky Saga before, I'll just present my notes on the SPEY 12 YO.

Incidentally the beers presented to go next to the whiskies were: Humlesus, Belgisk Pale Ale, Hesjeøl, Wild Thing and Dark Force, all from Haandbryggeriet. I will not go into the pairings here, though.

The tasting was held by Anya Pajor from Daracha, and Stefan Hansen from Haandbryggeriet, which made for an informative and fun session.

SPEY 12 YO is available at Vinmonopolet in Norway at NOK 870 (3414101). It does not appear to be available in Sweden, but the search function at Systembolaget has become very unreliable lately, so I might be mistaken.

Nose: A malty smell, this reminds me a bit of grinding fresh malt grains for beer. There's wild strawberries, licorice and citrus. It is also slightly peaty and medical.

Taste: Malty with typical sherry notes. I find oak, sweet fruits with vanilla custard and a nuttiness.

Finish:  The malt and sherry carries on. It finishes a bit short, and turns slightly bitter.

Comments: As with many of the whiskies bottled at 40% ABV I feel it's a bit thin, and I would have loved to sample it at 43 % or preferably 46 %. Then it would (probably) pack more of a punch both in flavour and aroma.

Score (82/100)

Image from Daracha.

Sláinte! - Kjell Ove