Review by: dustbunna
I’m writing a longer than usual intro because I really had to dig to find much information about this bottle. Few reviews of this exist online– a couple from years ago on Reddit, an independent whisky blogger or two, and a couple of Youtube videos (Scotch4Dummies reviewed it most recently from what I can tell, and I believe they had the same batch I bought.)
This review is the result of a complete impulse buy— I saw Spey Tenné appear on the shelf in one of my go-to places, on sale for $40, and was totally drawn in by the color– it looked like a full-bodied red wine in the bottle (and only slightly thinner, like ruby port, in the glass.) Spey is the market name for the core line of Speyside Distillery (located in… wait, the Highlands? It’s actually closer to Dalwhinnie than the traditional Speyside region, isolated further up the Spey River on one of its tributaries.) The distillery, tucked away from the more usual Scotch tourist paths, seems not to have a visitors’ center, nor is it open to the public (except by advance appointment.) It also has had virtually no market presence in the United States so far, but their single malt range apparently is quite popular in Asia (Taiwan in particular).
For all the enigmas around the distillery itself, it certainly had attractive stats to a whisky nerd like me. Tenné (Latin for tawny) is a NAS release rumored to be matured around 8 years in ex-bourbon before being finished in tawny port pipes. It’s released at 46%, non-chill-filtered, and– amazingly– without added color. Since this was introduced some years ago, there have been several large runs made, on the order of 18,000-30,000 bottles, which have a light copper/rose appearance, but this bottle belongs to a later limited run, most likely made 2017-2018, of just 1,200 bottles with this crazy dark red complexion. The port pipes must have been VERY active here– it looks like the whisky could have been fully matured in them. The presentation is also very lavish– heavy bottle, gold trim, a tartan ribbon, the distiller’s signature etched into the sides of the bottle.
TL;DR, this is an entry-level malt from a mysterious distillery, secretive yet trying to make a big impression, and the color is gorgeous. But what good is all that flair and attractive color if the whisky doesn’t live up to it?
Distillery: Speyside.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Speyside.
ABV: 46%.
Age: NAS but purportedly 8 years. Bottled in 2018.
Cask type: Ex-bourbon finished in ruby port pipes.
Price: $40 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 5 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: strawberry preserves, oak, cherries, sweet red wine, ethanol prickle, nondescript artificial candy, delicate enough that a few drops of water will kill it, but a Ralfy teaspoon of water brings out something more leathery.
Palate: medium body ~quite hot for 46% with red wine tannins in spades, mellowing to reveal more cherries, cinnamon, leather, softens to a neutral, generic sweet taste. Water (any amount) just brings out sharpness and a bit more wood spice.
Finish: short ~ slightly sweeter, bitter orange, cherry cough syrup, sharp ethanol lingers on.
Conclusion: Maybe those port pipes were just too active. This kind of reminds me, in its various stages, of a number of out-of-balance budget red wines I’ve experienced. At first, it’s so tight and full of tannins it’s almost undrinkable– I let it sit for about three weeks after opening, and it did eventually open up to reveal more sweetness, but even those new notes were nothing to get super excited about. Generically bitter gives way to generically sweet, feeling pretty young and sharp all the while. It’s drinkable, sure, but I have to say I’m pretty disappointed based on that beautiful color and hoping to find an affordable port-finished whisky I liked (Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban just didn’t do it for me, and there aren’t many other options in the same price range.) Definitely a bit below par… but I like to try to say something positive about each whisky I taste, and besides the hue, at least this makes for a nice hot toddy.
Final Score: 56.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 