Signatory Vintage 100% Proof Edition #30 Orkney 2010 14 Year Old Single Malt Review

Pricing is an ever popular topic of discussion among whisky enthusiasts. Especially since Covid we seen the premiumization and indeed ultra-premiumization of many brands, especially those owned by the Global Multinationals – Diageo, Pernod-Ricard, Beam Suntory, Brown-Forman to name just a few.

It’s left many of us reminiscing about the heady days of the early 2000’s when well aged whiskies of your personal preference – Bourbon, Irish, Scotch or beyond could be picked up for bargain basement prices.

Just one example would be Glendronach 21. I reviewed that in 2018 after a bottle split with my whisky share club for £99 from Master of Malt. Today that bottle on the same site will cost you £235 or around $350 (£261) here in Florida. 

So after moving here in 2024, it has been with envious eyes that I watched many of the good whisky folk back home enjoy the offerings of the Signatory Vintage 100% Proof range. Often well aged single malt scotch offerings from very well thought of distilleries at prices ranging from £40 ($53) to perhaps £125 ($165).

For those of you not in the know Signatory Vintage are an Independent Bottler of Scotch whisky, meaning they buy casks from distilleries or other cask brokers, mature the spirit themselves and then bottle them under their own label.

Indies can be a great way to experience your favourite distillery in a fairly unadulterated way as they are often bottled at at least 46% abv, although often at cask strength and without chill filtration or the addition of e150 caramel colouring.

Established in 1988 by Andrew Symington, Signatory are highly regarded amongst whisky enthusiasts keeping company with the likes of Gordon & MacPhail, Cadenhead’s, Douglas Laing or Berry Bros & Rudd. They also own the incredibly picturesque and quaint Edradour distillery in Perthshire which is where their entire operations are based.

Probably most famous for their Un-Chill Filtered range, Signatory also produced the Cask Strength Collection and the Single Grain Collection. The 100% Proof range was released in late 2023 but gained traction through 2024. In fact it ruffled a few industry feathers. While enthusiasts lapped upped the halcyon days pricing of this range, other independent bottlers were not quite so happy with one in particular calling their pricing ‘a race to the bottom’! I’ll get into that in another Signatory video as well as what Imperial proof is.

Signatory Vintage Orkney 14 Year Old #30      £43.50/$52.00/$50.00

100% Imperial Proof – 57.1% abv

1st fill Oloroso Sherry Butt

Nose: Straight away it’s fudge, fudge and more fudge. Mocha, cinnamon and sultanas. Milk chocolate, walnuts, hazelnuts, dried apricot, orange zest and heather honey. A touch of beef bouillon and a gentle heathery peat smoke.

Water gives candy floss, orange marmalade and dark dried fruit.

Palate: A little heat on arrival followed by honeyed malt, oloroso sherry, walnuts, raisins, dates and subdued heathery peat. Cooked orchard fruit, dunnage and new leather. Fruitcake with glace fruit (orange & limes). A hint of rose water too.

Water brings out some pepper plus more orange marmalade and sherry soaked raisins.

Finish: Medium with plenty of sherry notes, mild oak and baking spices.

Score: 7 out of 10

Overall: This is really stupidly good value for money and goes to only reinforce that buying officially bottled highland Park is really just a hiding to nothing.

The use of the 1st fill sherry cask has been well utilized so that you get the sherry uplift without it completely dominating the spirit. I’d 100% wager that this is a finish and not a full maturation in the sherry cask.

So far the Signatory Vintage 100% proof releases are off to a good start….in my books at least.

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