2008 Port Dundas 15 Year Old "Signatory" K&L Exclusive Refill Oloroso Sherry Cask Strength Non Chillfiltered Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Name: 2008 Port Dundas 15 Year Old "Signatory" K&L Exclusive Refill Oloroso Sherry Cask Strength Non Chillfiltered Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky (700ml)
SKU: 1789499
Rating: 0 (1 reviews)

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David Othenin-Girard

K&L Buyer

Review Date: November 2024

First off, we'd never previously consider buying grain so young, but most grain is in 4th+ fill barrel and by 15 years it's so closed to new make it doesn't make any sense to drink for pleasure. But it turns out if you put the same whisky in a good 2nd fill sherry butt, a whole new world opens up. At this price for a distillery that is now demolished to never be distilled again, we had to give it a go. Thank god we did; this is one of the most exciting cross over whiskies to this category we've ever bottled. Let's have a go! The color is a shimmering deep gold (0.8). The nose starts rather bold for a grain with deep toffee and toasted vanilla dominating. There's coconut husk and lemon preserves with hints of greengage and sweet cereal grains. The sherry character isn't very forward at first, but hints of golden raisins and white fudges frosting are extremely pleasurable. Ripping intensity on the palate with green apple and zingy citrus with a spicy finish make me immediately grab the pipette for a splash of water. Now here we are. This takes more than a few drops of water perfectly. With a nice splash, the nose becomes this incredible bouquet of lemon oil, marsh mellow candy, cream custard, sweet green grapes, and Seville orange zest. The incredible benefits of water on the palate are shocking. Extremely rich and textural, which is unusual for a grain. Bright red fruits, cake frosting, vanilla cream, chocolate powder. It's so supple and drinkable now - dangerously so. This will be too much for the uninitiated without water, and while it maybe should have been bottled at 46% for accessibility's sake for all those who don't read this sentence, it can be an overt and delicious experience given some proper coaxing. I pray that most of you find this note and feel free to dump more than a little water in here because once you do the possibilities here are truly staggering and the amount of pleasure you will derive from giving this bottle a chance at this price is immense.

Notes

We've had a roller coaster of a relationship with Single Grain whisky at K&L. The redheaded stepchild of Scotch, it's long been a category requiring significant amounts of education. If it wasn't super old and cheap most people turned their noses up at it after being ingrained with the pre-conception that good scotch is single malt, hard stop full stop. But occasionally we come across a barrel so unique that it defies those pre-conceptions. This absolutely monster cask is only the second grain we've ever sold that was aged in sherry and comes from the now defunct north Glasgow distiller. The Diageo owned plant, featured heavily throughout the Johnnie Walker line of blended Scotches, has become a darling of collectors since its closure and dismantlement in 2011. Typically grain whisky is filled into very old used barrels which impart almost no flavor, but this one has been aged in a still active refill sherry butt. The relatively youth as compared to previous grains is notable as is the incredibly reasonable price, but unlike much of the young grain this one has developed so real complexity. It will need air and water to open up full but should show a completely unique side of grain whisky. It's not single malt light or dry bourbon, but a completely new character profile full of sweet grain and robust spice. At this price, no one can afford to ignore this rare ghost distillery.

Details

Origin	Lowland, Scotland
Type/Varietal	Malt
Alcohol Content	62.3%
SKU	1789499