2020 USA Exclusive Four Barrel Batch
It has been quite some time since I last reviewed Daftmill. I recall enjoying that 2007 blend but couldn’t get past the rather intense price hurdle. I’ve written less and less about value in my reviews since then and will only make one point about it here. I purchased this bottle on clearance.
Daftmill is a true, grain-to-bottle distillery. The tiny farm distillery only produces about 20,000 liters or about 100 casks annually. They are primarily a working farm growing cereals, cultivating veg, and rearing cattle. During the off-peak times on the farm, the stills come to life as they begin mashing and distilling their farm’s own grain.
This batch was unique, being the first to include a sherried whisky in the blend coming from a first fill oloroso butt. Look to Daftmill’s website for full details on this batch and browse their media section. They have great photos and videos to enjoy of their little farm distillery.
Distillery: Daftmill.
Region: Cupar, Fife.
ABV: 46%.
Age: 11 Years.
Cask type: 3 First Fill Bourbon Barrels and 1 Oloroso Butt.
Price: $230 (Purchased for $120).
Color: 1.3 Muscat. Natural Color. No chill filtration.
Tasting Notes
Tasted neat in a Glencairn with 15+ minutes of rest. Dilution was added for the second half of the tasting with an additional rest of upwards of an hour. This review encompasses my initial impression to the final glass.
Nose: Intense floral perfume. A great start to the nose on this whisky. Heather honey and toasted graham crackers. Buttered toast with apricot jelly. Sweet nectarines and laminated dough. Very much breakfast sort of vibes. The softer sherry oak brings complexity and also those baking spices of peppercorns and ceylon cinnamon. Adding a touch of water produces a tropical lean to the nose. Roasted pineapple, sprinkled with brown sugar. Still floral enough with that dilution and will remind you of orange blossom water. Lastly, distinct, clean mineral water. It’s tough to describe from the nose, but calcium powder or gypsum if you’ve ever tried to make sparking mineral water. Imagine flat Perrier.
Palate: Oak and spice hit first with a splash of sherry. Not a jammy sherry mind you, but grape forward with earthy wine notes. The tropical notes from the nose clue you in for the higher acidic palate. More of those baking spices become clearer with the addition of a distinct ginger powder note. Earthy flavors usually manifest as walnuts or pecans for me but here, it’s more soft and buttery like Macadamia or hazelnuts. Almost unnoticed at first, there’s also a small touch of milk chocolate coated dried berries.
Finish: A drying finish but not tannic in nature. The cereals are quite noticeable now bringing terroir and mineral elements. Cotton, pinewood sap, and wet nylon rope. At times, a drop of saline catches my palate and brings complexity to the dram. A lingering medicinal fruit note that’s difficult to distinguish. It’s an unripe strawberry followed by a juicier ripened berry. Each sip presents both, it’s just a matter of which you notice first. In my head, I had presumed a more green and herbal malt, but the very next sip was bright, acidic, and like biting into a summer berry.
Overall
I think I like this even more than the previous batch I tried. I love oloroso as it is, but the balance here was complex and interesting. For a 46%’er there’s no lack of flavor or viscosity either. It’s a robust whisky that I enjoyed greatly. If you can clear the aforementioned hurdles, your palate is in for a treat.
Final Score: 91
