Long gone

Meh

For the details…

Built in 1878 in the Speyside town of Rothes by a local grain merchant named James Stuart, Glen Spey was originally known as “Mill of Rothes.” It was built in the same year as its better-known neighbor, Glenrothes, part of the early stages of the huge late 19th century distilling boom on Speyside. 

Stuart sold the distillery to London gin producer W&A Gilbey in 1887, whereupon it was renamed Glen Spey. In 1962, W&A Gilbey merged with the parent company of Justerini & Brooks (J&B) to form International Distillers and Vintners (IDV), which eventually became part of Diageo. It has played a prominent role in the popular J&B blend over the years.

In 2001, Glen Spey was bottled as part of the Flora & Fauna range, but outside that, bottlings, especially official bottlings, are quite scarce. It remains part of the vast Diageo empire, its main purpose to quietly churn out fillings for J&B and the firm’s other blends.

This 10 year old version was distilled in 1996 and bottled by the independent bottler Murray McDavid in around 2006, when it was still part of the same firm that owned the Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay. While the distillery is typically known for producing a bone-dry, grain forward make, this is a jammy, fruity affair with only a subtext of drier notes, likely thanks to finishing in a Madeira wine cask.

Glen Spey 1996 (Murray McDavid) 10 years old 46% abv

Nose: Plummy, figgy. Dust and nuts. Some citrus—lime? Sage. Some clover honey. Sweet grassiness. Round.

Body: Medium, sharp.

Palate: Orange marmalade, sweet grass, saddlesoap. Semi-sweet fruit and grass notes give way to woody, soapy astringency—bark. Not quite ripe black cherries.

Finish: Sweet grass makes a very brief reappearance, and then fades rapidly—short and drying overall with a trace of feintiness.

Score: 76/100

Who should buy it?: If you really love wine finishes, and you find a bottle at auction (unlikely) for around $70 or so, it might be worth your while. 

Overall thoughts: A pleasant enough whisky, but it’s very, very cask (specifically cask finish) forward, and what lies beneath the effects of the cask finish isn’t all that amazing.

Bottling Information:

Expression: Glen Spey 1996 10 years old 46% abv

Bottler: Murray McDavid

Range: Mission

Bottle Code: 06/0124 B 26 JUL 06 15:27

Presentation: Unchillfiltered and natural color

Details: Distilled 1996, bottled 2006, 10 years old, matured in bourbon casks, finished in Madeira casks

Price: $70

Availability: Long gone

Distillery Information:

Region: Speyside

Location: Rothes

Geography: Inland

Date Founded: 1878

Owner: Diageo

Website: https://www.malts.com/en-us/

Capacity: 1,400,000

Plant Summary: MASH TUN: Lauter; WASHBACKS: 8 Steel; STILLS: 4; HEAT SOURCE: Steam; CONDENSER: Shell and Tube

Total expressions sampled: 1

Overall distillery score: n/a

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