Port Dundas 23 Years Old 2000 Cask #366663 (James Eadie)

James Eadie selected this single grain Port Dundas, aged 23 year old, from 2000, drawn from cask 366663 and bottled at 54.7%. A small release of 283 bottles. Established in 1811 on the Glasgow canal, Port Dundas grew into a major grain distillery before being closed in 2010 after two hundred years. What survives is held by Diageo and a scattering of independent bottlers.

Distilled on a wheat led mash with Loch Katrine water and made in patent column stills rather than pot stills, it began as a clean, sweet grain spirit. Maturation in a Pedro Ximenez cask laid a dark, sweet sherry character over the light grain. Decades in wood take the light spirit into an oxidative maturity, full and gently waxy. The slow loss of the angel's share, one to two percent a year, has concentrated the liquid over time.

At a full 54.7% it is deep and strong. The Pedro Ximenez lends raisin, date and treacle, while the oak lends a soft vanilla, with coconut and cream from the lactones and caramelised wood sugars a toffee sweetness, across a soft, fruity grain backbone. A gentle spice and polished oak frame the sweetness. The finish runs long, creamy and gently spiced. This is proof of how gracefully old grain can age.