Port Dundas 25 Years Old Batch 1

By Barry Bradford on December 8, 2017 • ( Leave a comment )

Port Dundas 25 Years Old Batch 1 (48.2%, That Boutique-Y Whisky Company, 115 Bottles, 2016)

Category: Single grain scotch whisky
Origin: Port Dundas Distillery
Bottling: That Boutique-Y Whisky Company
ABV: 48.2%
Cost: £99.95

What they say

This is the first bottling of Port Dundas single grain Scotch whisky from That Boutique-y Whisky Company, matured for 25 years. Port Dundas was once a sizeable grain distillery, producing whisky for a number of top blends. Sadly, the distillery was closed in 2010 – but that won’t stop the likes of That Boutique-y Whisky Company bottling their whisky which remains! The label features some rather detailed drawings of various grains which have been used in the production of single grain whisky over the years, including corn, oat and rye.

Batch 1 is a release of 115 bottles.

‘That Boutique-y Whisky Company’ bottles single malts, single grains and bourbons from a variety of renowned distilleries as well as producing award-winning blended malts and blends. These whiskies are adorned with cultish graphic novel-style labels.

What I say

Port Dundas has a peculiar place in my heart as far as Grain Distilleries can go.

This 25 year old bottled by TBWC must have been distilled around 1991 as it was bottled/released November 2016.

I recently got the chance to sample this at Glasgow’ Whisky Festival 2017 where it was present on their stand. Having sampled much older Port Dundas expressions that were a lot stronger I can only assume this was in a rather active or breathy cask to have dropped to 48.2%?

My tasting notes:

Appearance: Straw gold like barley in the sun (5/20) very fine legs leave medium-fine beads
Nose: Citrus, sharp and sweet, lemon/lime and some clementine, polish and solvent, a little vanilla custard, quite clean with some cereal sweetness and the dryness of grains also, acidic green apple, green banana and melon complete the fruit cocktail
Taste: Mint choc-chip ice cream, melon, peach, apple, pear and banana, cereals arrive with a toasted white bread and plenty of salted butter, a touch of hazelnut, medium-bodied and quite clean/polished on the palate too like Werther’s Original cream caramel/toffee or hard butterscotch candies.
Finish: Medium-long, more butterscotch candies a hint of vanilla and zesty lime drizzle icing with white pepper, drying

Overall:

A pleasantly fresh and light flavoured grain from Port Dundas with some fun salty, buttery and nutty elements to keep things moving along the palate. A touch of spice and zest lead to a drying and palate cleansing finish.