Teaninich 13 years 2008 - 2021 #704328

Teaninich was built in the early 19th century and was eventually bought by blenders Munro & Cameron in 1895. Their managers later sold the distillery to DCL in 1933, and to this day the distillery is part of the Diageo operations. The distillery mainly focuses on supplying the company's many blends, and the 10-year-old Flora & Fauna is the distillery's only permanent bottling, with only a handful of rare official releases appearing alongside it over the years. The majority of Teaninich single malt has therefore appeared under independent labels like this one.

This 13-year-old Teaninich was distilled on 25 March 2008. The whisky matured for 13 years in a First Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel before bottling on 1 April 2021. The independent bottler (The Single Cask) decided to bottle it at cask strength 53.8%.

Tasting notes:

Colour: Straw yellow.

Nose: Nice grainy nose where the malt character is clearly present. Some hay or perhaps better freshly cut grass with notes of freshly baked croissants. Hint of lemon cake.

Flavour: Full-bodied but wonderfully fresh. Again a fresh granular character where lemon cake is perhaps the best name for the flavour. With a fine spicy underlay, though.

Finish: This is where Teaninich's oily character emerges. Older Clynelish bottlings have this too. A full and creamy layer remains on the palate. Mmmmm

Teaninich Distillery

Teaninich Distillery is located near the village of Alness in the Scottish Highlands, not far from the Cromarty Firth. Founded in 1817 by Captain Hugh Munro, Teaninich is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and has a long history of whisky production.

A unique feature of Teaninich is the use of a special filtering technique, the mash filter, instead of the traditional mash tun. This contributes to the clarity and purity of the whisky. The distillery uses water from the nearby Alness River.

The whiskies are mainly matured in ex-bourbon casks, which ensures a well-balanced and rich flavour. Teaninich is a major supplier of malt whisky for blended whiskies, but also produces excellent single malts. This combination of tradition, innovation and high-quality production makes Teaninich loved by connoisseurs.