Fettercairn 2007 18 Year Old, Finn Thomson Cask #17602207

The Scotch whisky industry has forever been masters of making the most of the tools at their disposal. Perhaps the best example of this is the use (and re-use) of casks used for maturing wines and spirits around the world. Whether it is utilising first fill bourbon barrels made available by the US 'one fill rule' or historically filling whisky into the transit casks of European wines, the Scots inherent thriftiness has resulted in creating liquid gold.

This Fettercairn 18 year old is a prime example of this mindset. Finished in a refill Tokaji cask that was previously used for finishing one of Finn Thomson's Glen Garioch releases, there is just a subtle hint of the fruitiness of the Tokaji wine that was previously held within a toned down version from the cask's initial use.

Fettercairn has one of the most unique distillation styles in Scotland. They cool the head of the still during distillation to increase the reflux of the heavier components of ther spirit. The result is a tropical, fruity style of whisky that would almost be more suited to the Caribbean than the foothills of the Grampian mountains.

This cask showcases all that tropical fruit. The Tokaji influence lifts those fruity notes while still allowing the natural style of the beautiful Fettercairn spirit to shine through and is proof that there was life in the old cask still.