Inchdairnie – Ryelaw Vintage 2018
Inchdairnie Distillery is a Distillery in the Kingdom of Fife overlooked by the Lomond Hills close to the town of Glenrothes.
Inchdairnie means “The Hidden Land Close to Water”
This dram is made using 53% Scottish malted rye and 47% Scottish malted barley. Maturation is in Bourbon casks from the Appalachian Mountains.
Distilled 27th December 2018 and bottled 10th March 2025 with no colour added and non-chill filtered.
It builds on the inaugural bottling giving a more complex and refined flavour.
A couple of years ago I got invited to the distillery for a tour and a tasting. This distillery is one of the finest I have toured with a magnificent still room.
Please check out my review of the 2017 vintage bottling, back on 8th May 2023.
Let’s not waste any more time and open the bottle and have a taste.
Inchdairnie 2018 Vintage – Fife Rye Scotch Whisky, 46.3% Alc/vol 70 cl
Colour…Polished brass trombone.
Nose…Leading is the vanilla, nuts – almonds and peanuts, mild spice and herb notes, orange candied jelly fruits, sweet and creamy.
Taste…Smooth and mouth filling, more light spices, a little ginger heat, banana fritters in a crispy batter, treacle tarts, runny toffee running down a charred oak stave.
Finish…Medium to long finish, elegant, still plenty of mild spice notes which offered an energising finish.
Scott Sneddon, Managing Director at InchDairnie Distillery said: “By changing the origin of the oak for RyeLaw Vintage 2018, we’ve created a spicier and more complex Whisky, supported by longer maturation than our first RyeLaw release. “While RyeLaw 2018 lends itself well to cocktails, it is, above all, a delicious sipping whisky – a ‘caramelised spiced symphony’. The spice is more assertive, layered with caramelised dried fruit and aromatic warmth, while the soft, sippable nature of our malted rye remains. This vintage reflects our mission to create a taste revolution.”
Yes, another fine bottling from all at Inchdairnie Distillery. Priced at £80.00, which I think is just about right for this fine dram.
I now look forward to using this vintage dram to make my favourite cocktail the “Old Fashioned”
A BIG THANKS to Katie Palmer for sending me a good sample of the 2018 Vintage dram.
