Edradour Caledonia 12 Year Old

This malt was selected by Douglas Maclean, a well-known singer in Scotland and named after his most famous song about the country he so dearly loves. Edradour once famed itself as the smallest distillery in Scotland, but there are various pretenders now who can claim that title: Daftmill, Kilchoman, Wolfburn, Loch Ewe (although can we even call this a real distillery?,...

I really love the dram-song connection here, it enriches the experience once you know that Douglas was trying to find a cask that one way or the other translated his lyrics into water of life.

PS: non-chill filtered and no color added.

Nose: a whiff of sherry, leather, salty ham, honey, figs and sultanas, a nice and fruity nose. Add some water and the fruity character of this whisky blossoms, more scents of orange breaking through. The sherry aroma is surprisingly enough not too dominant, even after 12 years in an Oloroso cask, maybe a refill cask?

Taste: what this malt needs is a few drops of water, without it you won't get much flavour out of this one. Hints of citrus, orange, honey, strips of leather.

Finish: Quite a long finish actually, this Edradour will leave its traces behind for quite some time. Some spices and oranges, but it will feel soft in your mouth.

Conclusion: not sure, this is definitely an easy sipper, smooth, not too complex. I do love the nose, but its body and finish don't live up to great expectations. That said, there is nothing wrong with this whisky, its not one of the greater malts available on the market nowadays, but I can guarantee that it is an honest and enjoyable dram. It has become quite pricey, since its release almost five years ago, but if you find it somewhere on a shelf at a reasonable price, don't hesitate to pick it up.

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