Speyburn Bradan Orach

I really don't know much about the Speyburn distillery, other than it is in the Speyside area. I could research it and give you some context, but I gotta lot to do tonight (having my big annual whisky party tomorrow night!) and don't have time, so…you lose. I tried the 10 Year Old, back when that one was the entry level expression - it was a nice, light, easy-drinking malt. I think this one (the name is Gaelic for "golden salmon") is the newer entry level expression. The 10 Year Old still exists; this Bradan Orach has no age statement.

The colour is a bright, golden amber. On the nose, buckets of honey, lemon and vanilla. Rather spirity for 40%, pretty rough around the edges. A little perfumey. Too young, methinks. Water seems to do little to the whisky on any level.

On the palate, not as sweet as I was expecting given the honey on the nose. Rather thin, nondescript. Some lemon, ginger and tart green apple. But underwhelming.

The finish is extremely, well, lemony, and rather short. This is quite disappointing (not that I was expecting fireworks). We have yet another Scottish distillery bottling young spirit, likely due to declining older stocks. Too bad. Well, give the 10 Year Old a try if you find it, but avoid this young whippersnapper.

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