Speyburn 18 Years Review

Before sitting down with this lovely Speyburn 18 (spolier), the only other Speyburn I’d had was the 10 and that was many years ago. I remember picking it up on clearance for around $10 and I ended up enjoying it enough to go back and pick up a couple more. The store I grabbed it from didn’t have any other Speyburns so that’s where my journey ended. Till now.

Aged in a ex-Bourbon and ex-Oloroso casks, this “double cask”/finished single malt is done in the classic un-peated Speyside manner, but delivered with natural color and non-chill filtered. With long-loved brands making the switch, seeing NCF on the bottle was a welcome site and put a smile on my face. Though a NCF smile alone does not a good whisky make. As spoiled above, there’s more to this whisky than just a nice oily feel.

Let’s get to drinkin’!

Speyburn 18 Years – Details and Tasting Notes

Whiskey Details

Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Style: Single Malt (Scotch)
Region: Speyside, Scotland
Distiller: Speyburn

Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry
Age: 18 Years
ABV: 46%

Speyburn 18 Years Price: $130*

Related Whiskey

Speyburn 10
Glenmorangie Sherry Wood
Kirkland Speyside 24 years Sherry
Amrut Intermediate Sherry
Glenfarclas 17 Years

White background tasting shot with the Speyburn 18 Years bottle and a glass of whiskey next to it.

“Beautifully matured in American oak and Spanish oak casks for 18 years, this outstanding Single Malt not only brings to life the natural vibrancy of Speyside but embodies a distillery’s devotion to its craft.” – Speyburn

Speyburn 18 Years Tasting Notes

EYE
Pinkish caramel

NOSE
Strawberry shortcake, dry sherry, honied graham cracker, baking spice with pops of vanilla, copper and leather.

Warm, sweet and a slightly earthy, this is a good aroma.

PALATE
Strawberry shortcake, dry sherry, cocoa, honied graham cracker, baking spice with pops of vanilla, spice, nuts and leather.

A near carbon copy of the aroma, but with some coco and nuts and a lack of copper.

FINISH
Medium-long -> Fruity, malty, darkly sweet and a bit malty.

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Well balanced, medium-full body and a lightly oily feel.

Speyburn 18 Years – Overall Thoughts and Score

A truly tasty, easy and lovely sherried scotch that I can sum up in a single word: elegant. It has a heavy, dark beauty to that almost pushes it to a 4.5/5 and keeps the sense engaged.

The aroma glides through with switching layers of sweet and earthy notes and carries the experience through the palate. And the texture… damn. The texture is slick and oily as it rolls through the mouth and down the throat carrying that balanced sweetness and slight earthiness through the finish with a hint of spice.

The sherry isn’t a powerful, hit you in the face, style. Instead it’s perfectly balanced with the underlying malt and I can’t get enough of it. Tasty, easy, elegantly bold, fully approachable and complex; this Speyburn 18 Years is a massive step up from the 10 and won’t last long in the cabinet.

SCORE: 4/5 (good, definitely recommend ~ B+ | 87-89)

*Disclosure: The bottle for this Scotch review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.