KEY FACTS ABOUT THIS WHISKY Distillery: Fettercairn Region: Highlands, Scotland Age: 12 years old Year distilled: 2006 ABV: cask strength of 55.7% Cask ref: 107721 Cask type: first fill ex-bourbon Bottle outturn: 225 Bottle size: 700ml  WHISKY TASTING NOTES Nose: Light cereal with subtle malt, straw and delicate fruits that pull a hint of aniseed behind them. Palate: Gentle and sweet, with more intense malt and straw notes. Finish: Lots of vanilla, oak and subtle caramel drizzled over peaches and cream.  BACKGROUND TO FETTERCAIRN Fettercairn is one of Richard Paterson’s experimental sites, where he investigates the magical properties of wood. We like to imagine Whyte & Mackay’s moustachioed master blender in a labcoat conducting his mad experiments in Fettercairn’s surprisingly modern dunnage warehouse. But maybe that’s just us. Besides the warehouse, everything at Fettercairn is pretty traditional. They even have an open-topped mash tun, which is pretty old-school, and the stills have soap grinders on the sides. This whisky is a product of those traditional methods and maturation in ex-bourbon to produce a intriguing whisky.