Signatory Unnamed Speyside 2009 46%

Tasting Notes

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: sweet tobacco in a leather pouch; oily and faintly meaty; very vegetal, with grilled and sauteed root vegetables; .

Palate: more sweet tobacco in a well-worn leather pouch; faded candied fruits, mushrooms, and more root vegetables: carrots and turnips; gets nuttier; earthy, wet leaf litter, and a touch meaty.

Finish: long, coating, and oily with fading fruits, tobacco, leather and spices; oily, earthy and meaty. 

Comment: I'm guessing this is young spirit forward Macallan, no goopy sherry notes here...

Andrew's Tasting Note- From a Prior Batch

Nose: honeyed with candied fruits, musty dunnage warehouse tones and loads of fruit: freshly picked oranges, baked apple and candied cherries; dry and nutty with leather and spices: cloves and fennel; damp Jujubes and tallow/beeswax-y tones.

Palate: sweet, creamy and nutty; a bit of a chameleon, can't decide if this is Bourbon or Sherry: probably both? still honeyed and juicy with more baked apple and fresh orange; at once juicy but also drying and nutty with leather and earthy dunnage warehouse notes; still waxy with a touch of malt.

Finish: long, coating, sweet, floral and creamy; more honey and fruits balanced with drying oak and nutty tones. 

Comment: still trying to figure out what this is, leaning towards young Macallan, as I can see some parallels with the Amber and Gold; regardless, this gets more interesting the deeper I go...

Independent Bottler

Signatory Vintage was established in 1988 by Andrew Symington. The quality of whiskies released by most Independent Bottlers can vary a lot, and be rather hit or miss. Signatory Vintage is an exception to this, and we have consistently been impressed by the quality of its offerings. Accordingly Signatory Vintage has been a staple in our shop for more than a decade.

One of the reasons for Signatory's consistently high level of quality is that it doesn't bottle casks in the hand-to-mouth fashion, of many other independent bottlers. But rather it purchases parcels of casks, storing them in their own warehouses, while patiently waiting for the whiskies to mature.

Originally located in Edinburgh, the business was moved to Pitlochry in 2002, after Symington purchased the Edradour Distillery from Pernod Ricard. Edradour is tucked into the hills above the scenic Highland town of Pitlochry. This farm distillery has a charming, rustic, and understated esthetic, which was maintained by Symington when building a new bottling facility and warehousing.

The distillery bottles single cask and small batch bottlings of both single malts and single grains. Its ranges include the Un-Chill Filtered and Cask Strength Collections. In 1988 the firm celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a range of specially chosen, exceptionally rare single casks.