Origin: Lowlands (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry Oloroso
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Daftmill Distillery
Average price: € 110.00
Official website: www.daftmill.com
Vote: 81/100
There aren’t many distilleries in the Lowlands, a Scottish production area that is often (wrongly) considered “minor” when in fact it has many interesting realities.
Like Daftmill, which began producing whisky in 2005 after converting an old mill into a distillery in a still operational farm.
In fact, production is entirely artisanal, using barley grown on site, the residues of which end up as animal feed for the structure’s animals and as fertiliser for the crops.
Since they have to follow the natural rhythm of the seasons, the production of whisky is very limited, so much so that their bottles aren’t easy to find (and have recently arrived here in Italy thanks to Pallini).
Francis and Ian Cuthbert made their debut on the market in 2017 with a 12yo (629 bottles), followed by several bottlings, including single casks and versions marked by the seasons, all strictly unpeated.
So here I am with a 2020 bottling that contains a distillate from the Summer of 2009, eleven years of ageing in different cask combinations depending on the three target markets (UK, Europe and Asia), always playing on a majority of ex-Bourbon over ex-Sherry: here we are with the European version, three ex-Bourbon casks and a first-fill ex-Sherry Oloroso butt that produced 1,785 bottles.
The Optic quality barley was harvested in 2006, malted in the Summer of the following year and distilled in the first two weeks of August 2009: you can’t say they skimp on the details provided for each bottling!
Tasting notes
The nose is fresh and sparkling, with citrus notes combined with fleshy fruit (peach, apricot, pear), green apple, vanilla, honey and a light waxy note in the background. A herbaceous and vaguely balsamic streak creeps through the aromas. Very pleasant and summery.
Spicy charge at the opening, pepper and ginger rather briefly accompany a touch of cinnamon on a light body of yellow fruit (peach, pear, melon), vanilla, almonds, citrus and a slight balsamic note. Rather fleeting.
Not very long finish of vanilla, citrus, ginger, nuts.
On paper, the whole process is very interesting and peculiar, meritorious in its driven craftsmanship, but the end result (at least in this bottle and for my very personal sensibility) doesn’t reflect all the effort, resulting in a whisky with little incisiveness that doesn’t stick in the memory.