Lowland Grain to Glass Scotch Whisky
Daftmill is a grain to glass distillery that operates a farm year round. Roughly twice a year they malt and distill their own harvest and lay down about 100 barrels annually. This batch comes from the 2007 Winter off-season. 7 all ex-bourbon barrels were dumped and blended then proofed to 46%.
Tasting Notes
Pale straw color, with medium-thin legs. This was rested, capped, for 10 minutes with no added water.
First note I got on the nose was an apple cider scent. Calvados or apple brandy. Tons of fruity sweetness. Pares, plums and raisins. There’s a touch of salt with graham crackers and other cereal grains. Very light and delicate malt. It gives me Irish whisky vibes with it’s floral qualities. Finally cinnamon spices and I can’t deny it, even bubble gum.
The malt is rather nice despite how light it is on the palate. Lots of the grains coming out with the slightly floral ex-bourbon cask notes. Not a lot of sweetness and I’m rather enjoying that. Some barrel char and tobacco. Waxy crayons ala Clynelish. Spice on the back end with some black pepper.
To me this is a dry riesling on the finish. Very oak forward fruity notes. Bitter tannins with pear and apple skins. Dark cocoa powder. A pleasant albeit short finish.
Overall
Tough to judge this one without mentioning the bottle price of $250. In a vacuum, this is an excellent whisky that I would love to drink daily. It’s delicate and floral and I really enjoy the slight waxy mouthfeel. Outside of that bubble, I feel like I can find similar bottles for a fraction of the price. Happy to have tried a sample but I would personally not buy a bottle for myself. I think it might be a different story if this was at cask strength and I would certainly love to try a release that is higher than 46%. I enjoy the story and the care it took to make this whisky and I look forward to trying more from Daftmill.
