Spey Cask 27 Is the First Whisky This Distillery Ever Made

The Speyside Distillery, as the name implies, lies within the Speyside region of Scotland. It is relatively young by Scotch standards, as 1990 was its first year of distillation. The fruits of that first labor are now being made available to the public as a limited edition bottling called Cask 27 that clocks in at around 25 years of age.

The Spey Cask 27 release, according to the distillery, was bottled at 55.1% cask strength after being pulled from the American oak cask it slept in for a quarter of a century. It is non-chill filtered and natural color, with just 250 bottles being produced for this release.

“This is not just a whisky: this is an integral part of the distillery’s heritage,” said John Harvey McDonough, chief executive officer of Speyside Distillery, in a statement. “We are extremely proud to be able to share this part of our history with whisky lovers and we hope those who are lucky enough to secure one of the special limited edition bottles will raise a toast to those who painstakingly worked together to build the beautiful distillery and lay down this very first distillate.”

Though specifics were not spelled out yet by Speyside around how the release would be handled, or what the price would be, the first bottle has already sold. It went to a bidder at a rare whisky auction recently for £650 (around $920 USD) when the hammer fell. It, like the others in this expression, is presented

in a beautiful humidor box with a hand written label, numbered bottle number and wax stamped with the wording – 1990 year of 1^st distillation. The box has a certificate of authenticity signed by the CEO.

Limited tasting notes for Cask 27, for the curious, indicate a Scotch with that has “a hue of light golden colour with an aroma of refreshing, delicate fruits with hints of vanilla and honey, and a taste of subtle vanilla with a smooth crème brûlée flavour. Its finish is mild, fresh citrus fruit.”