Port Dundas 15 Years Old 2010 (Signatory Vintage)

This is a single grain Port Dundas, chosen and bottled by Signatory Vintage matured to 15 year old, from 2010 and bottled at 46%. Once one of Glasgow's two grain distilleries, Port Dundas was founded in 1811 in the north of Glasgow before being closed by Diageo in 2010. Glasgow was the blending heart of Scotland, and its output flowed into the famous houses.

Port Dundas made its whisky from unpeated wheat with a little malted barley, worked through continuous patent stills to give a light bodied spirit of real finesse. A mix of ex-Bourbon and Oloroso casks shaped it, the bourbon wood lending sweetness and the Oloroso a darker, nutty depth. A decade and a half in oak knits cask and spirit, building a creamy, sweet make. High strength off the still means the cask, not the spirit, leads the flavour.

At an approachable 46% it is smooth. The melanoidins of the Oloroso give fig, raisin and walnut, while butterscotch and toffee from the toasted oak, lifted by a sweet vanilla from the wood and the lactones bring coconut and cream, set over the soft tropical fruit of well aged grain. The texture is oily and mouth coating, a hallmark of mature grain. The finish is long, waxy and warming. This is a taste of Glasgow grain that can no longer be made.