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Kensington Wine Market's 2023 Whisky Calendar UBER EDITION Day 19 - Valinch & Mallet Speyside 30 Year

Posted on December 20, 2023

by Evan

This is a bottling of 30-year-old Speyside Single Malt Scotch from Valinch & Mallet. Which Speyside distillery does it come from though? Is it a mystery malt, right?

Click above for a short YouTube video showing Speyside Distillery

No, actually. In fact, this Speyside single malt was distilled at THE Speyside Distillery – a name that out-generics the likes of Speyburn and Glen Spey and is likely the most boring and redundant of all Scottish Distillery names.

The Speyside Distillery, which is owned by – get this – Speyside Distillers – was founded in 1990, making it fairly young as Scottish distilleries go. Its short life has been relatively tumultuous in terms of ownership and official bottlings, However, the distillery’s location and surroundings are about as idyllic and picturesque as you can find in a country known for containing an overabundance of such places. Speyside Distiller is located in Inverness-Shire, about an hour’s drive south of Inverness itself. Its nearest distillery neighbours include Dalwhinnie Distillery which is about a 30-minute drive to the Southwest, and Tomatin Distillery which is around a 45-minute drive North.

If you have had any Speyside Distillery Single Malt Scotch in the past, it may have been bottled under the name Spey, which is what it’s official releases are labelled as. The bottles look pretty but are just at the point of being too tall to fit on most whisky store shelves. It is infuriating and might be one of the reasons you can’t find it in many whisky shops on a regular basis. I am basing that on personal experience, not actual statistics. What I can tell you is that as I write this, we have no official bottlings of Spey on KWM shelves, because the only shelves the bottles fit on are so high altitude that they can cause nose bleeds and hypoxia if you are not careful enough in your climb.

Okay, if you have been following along with the 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar as well as this UBER Calendar, then you are probably feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. Almost as if you have read much of this before… Well! That is the bottle behind Door Nineteen in that Whisky Calendar is also a from Speyside Distillery, but in that case it is a 25-year-old from The Single Malts Of Scotland.

Back to this bottle. Independent bottler Valinch & Mallet is headquartered in London, England, about a 20-minute walk south of Hyde Park and the Knightsbridge Station for the London Underground transit system. The company was founded in 2015 by Davide Romano and Fabio Ermoli; Italian friends that share a passion for whisky. Valinch & Mallet specializes in Scotch Whisky and Rum, focusing mostly on releasing single-cask bottles at cask strength.

Shall we taste the whisky?

Valinch & Mallet Speyside 30 Year Old – 48.9%

This Valinch & Mallet bottling of Speyside Distillery Single Malt Scotch is 30 years old. It is part of what the indie bottler called the Lost Drams Collection, which features single casks that are between 20 and 30 Years Old. The Speyside bottle was distilled in 1991 and matured entirely in an ex-Sherry Hogshead.  Bottled at a cask strength of 49.8%, the copper-looking label reads “30 yrs of Bad Reputation”, which refers to Valinch & Mallet co-founder Fabio Ermoli’s three decades in the wine and spirits business. I haven’t met the man yet, but after reading that I kind of want to.

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Werther’s Original candies, Ouzo, stewed plums, dates, dehydrated apple slices, slightly burnt brown sugar, old pennies, and Cracker Jack popcorn.

Palate: More chewy licorice and brown sugar notes along with hot cross buns, pralines, apple fritter doughnuts, cinnamon toast, raisins, and dried apricots.

Finish: Rich and long-lasting with fruit leather and toffee notes abound.

Comment: This is a big, rich sherry that walks right up to the line of savory without actually crossing it. Fantastic stuff!

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Facebook & Instagram: @sagelikefool

You can find all blog posts for the UBER EDITION of Kensington Wine Market’s 2023 Whisky Calendar Here

This entry was posted in Whisky, Whisky Calendars, Independent Bottler, KWM Whisky Calendar 2023 UBER EDITION

 

 

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