Birthday Booze: Speyburn 37 year old 1975 Clan Cask 3413

The Birthday Booze posts are going to go on for a while because that's the mood I'm in.

In 2012, Speyburn Distillery bottled a single cask for their official fan club, and it wasn't something like a 7 year old Virgin Oak creature, but rather a 37 year old PX cask! As far as I can tell, they never did such a thing again. Luckily for me my good friends, the Doctors Springbank, purchased a bottle back then. I didn't meet the Docs for another six or seven years, but apparently it was just in time for them to share a pour with me. Thank you, folks!

pic source

Distillery: Speyburn
Ownership: Inver House (via Thai Beverages plc via International Beverage Holdings Ltd.)
Region: Speyside (Rothes)
Age: 37 years old (1975 - 2012)
Maturation: Pedro Ximenez cask

Cask #: 3413
Exclusive to: Clan Speyburn
Alcohol by Volume: 55.4%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a? No

(courtesy of Doctors Springbank)

NEAT

The nose begins with a mix of dark chocolate, dried blueberries, dried currants, and brine. After ~40 minutes, Fig Newtons join in, as does a subtle farmy note. After an hour, there's cinnamon sprinkled on baked peaches and walnuts. A nice musty dunnage note hits the palate first, followed by limes, wet stones, and tannins. Nutmeg and an earthy molasses fill the background. Lime pith and pulp, honeydew, nutmeg, and baking chocolate finish it off.

DILUTED to 50%abv, or ⅔ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Due to the whisky's age, I'm being cautious with the dilution. Date rolls and old Calvados float up to meet the nose, followed by raw almonds, maple syrup, and a hint of anise. The palate gets mustier, tarter, sweeter, and figgier. The sweetness merges well with oak spice and bitter citrus in the finish.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I don't know how many, if any, such gems remain in Speyburn's Rothes warehouses. In fact this may have been their oldest official release, with a 1973 single cask being the only one from an earlier vintage. The whisky feels its age, but in the best way, with a mustiness and earthiness which meld perfectly with figs and dates, so you know it won me over. The whisky carries a steep price on the secondary market, perhaps the highest of any Speyburns I've seen, so you should surreptitiously seek out Clan Speyburn members and drink their whisky.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - ????
Rating - 90