Port Dundas 30 Years Old 1982 Cask #DL 8764 (Douglas Laing)

This is a single grain Port Dundas, chosen and bottled by Douglas Laing at 30 year old from 1982, drawn from cask DL 8764 and bottled at 58.1%. Some 163 bottles were drawn. Port Dundas, one of Glasgow's two grain distilleries founded in 1811 in the north of Glasgow, was closed by Diageo in 2010. Grain whisky on this scale was the quiet engine of the Scotch blending trade.

The spirit was produced by continuous distillation in Coffey stills from a mash of wheat and malted barley, the gentle grain make once destined for blends. Refill American oak held the spirit, soft wood that lets the grain lead. At this age grain grows rich and oily, the long oak contact building real depth. The wood does most of the talking in grain whisky, which is why cask choice matters here.

At a hearty 58.1% it shows real weight. The toasted oak gives vanilla, with the wood lactones lend coconut and a creme brulee note from the caramelised sugars, over the orchard and tropical fruit of mature grain. Banana and pineapple flicker through the creamy body. The finish is long, sweet and softly oaky. This is ever scarcer now the distillery is gone.