Daftmill Inaugural Release

The most exciting whisky release of 2018, despite the high cost, is undoubtedly the first official bottling from Daftmill.

I was lucky enough to taste a wee sample of it, brought back from the launch event by colleagues who were in Fife to see the first bottle opened, and then tasted it again the other night at Glasgow's Whisky Club.

Most new distillers have a pressing need to bring in some cash to recoup their outlay, but the Cuthbert brothers were in the fortunate position of growing barley and also of having some old buildings going spare that could be used for distilling and warehousing. Hence, despite the endless questioning as to when it might be bottled, Daftmill has only now been released, as a twelve year old (I would have asked the question myself, but we were forewarned by Francis Cuthbert not to do so, on pain of eviction from the distillery).

And so to the liquid. Bottled at 55.8%, this is a vatting of three casks filled in December 2005, all first fill ex-Heaven Hill bourbon barrels.

nose: white chocolate or chantilly cream, soft, but also somewhat spirity. Is that mocha coffee?
something sharp and grassy - perhaps a minty note? The oak spices are beautiful.

palate: it's malty, dry, and rich, getting more and more malty in the finish. The texture is slightly oily. There are flavours of coconut, loads of sweet boiled fruit notes, plus something fresh - green apples and mint I think.

conclusion: it's a very good twelve year old. Is it outstanding? I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it is lovely. Is it a Lowland whisky? Well, it certainly doesn't conform to my mental model of that style. It's too rich and malty, although there is something light and grassy in there somewhere.

Is it worth £210? Of course not, but while whisky's equivalent of tulipomania continues, it makes sense for Daftmill and Berry Brothers to benefit, rather than the *!?@$** flippers and auction houses.

Future releases will consist of a regular Summer Distillation and a Winter Distillation, plus occasional single casks. The regular releases will be priced around the £100 mark - still expensive compared with, say, Glenfiddich 12, but considering how Daftmill is made, not at all unreasonable.

£210 is far beyond my whisky budget, and indeed the consensus at the club was that most people wouldn't buy it. So much the better, then, that we were able to taste it as a group.

ralfy.com Port Charlotte 12 Year Old

YouTube superstar Ralfy popped into the shop to say hello, and very kindly shared a delicious peaty dram with us.

It's a private cask of Port Charlotte, bottled to mark the achievement of a new world record at Bonneville this September past, vintage motorcycles being Ralfy's other obsession.

Ralfy has picked a fantastic cask to bottle, the kind of clean, fresh ex-sherry cask which adds so much to a whisky without dominating the spirit character.

The nose is salty and rich and slightly waxy. There's the characteristic sherry cask chocolate note which to me is always reminiscent of cheap instant chocolate pudding - you know, Angel Delight or Miracle Whip or similar. There's also just enough old cask smell or fustiness. Not too much, just enough.

The palate is sweet and rounded and chocolatey, before evolving into a snuffed out candle smoke taste. Delicious.

It's a very, very fine Port Charlotte, by far the best I've yet tasted. Good work on securing that cask, Ralfy, and can I have some more please?

Postscript: A couple of days later I was talking to Ralfy again and he told me that, according to staff from Bruichladdich who were at Glasgow's Whisky Festival, some of these private casks of Port Charlotte were actually filled with Octomore (due to a shortage of PC spirit). Which might explain the intense peat character of this dram, coming as it does from a pretty active cask.

Tasting Note: Arran 12 Year Old Cask Strength

I first tried the Arran 12 Year Old Cask Strength last month when it was released, and was not excited by it. I like the standard 10 year old - a great session dram, satisfying without being challenging, like a battered old sofa with dogs on it, rather than a Louis Quinze armchair - and several Arran releases have been truly excellent, but this expression seemed rather quiet.

Whisky drinkers will often find the time to disagree with each other at length, but I think it's fair to say that most of them would agree a freshly opened bottle tastes different to one that's had a few days or weeks to air. And many would say that an open whisky improves with time. Tasting the Arran 12 again tonight rather confirms that view. Tonight's dram is from a 10cl sample bottle which has been left half full for a month or so, and I like it much better now.

Confirming my earlier thoughts, it's not a blockbuster. But arguably, that's a good thing; it hides its 54%ABV well, and is extremely drinkable neat.

It takes quite a while to show its colours, and I find myself making a comparison to Lochnagar, another malt which doesn't really do fireworks, but is a great comfort whisky. It's very sweet, with the baked apples and spice I associate with Arran, and there's no dryness anywhere to be found. The sherry flavours are subtle, and only come along slowly.

In conclusion, I'd call this a beginner's Cask Strength whisky, just as I'd say that the Arran 10 is a beginner's malt. There's plenty of interest, it does what it ought to, but few people will find it challenging.