Dumbarton 23 Years Old 2000 Cask #211885 (Dràm Mòr)

The bottler Dràm Mòr bottled this Dumbarton single grain, a 23 year old, distilled in 2000, from cask 211885, bottled at 57.1%, one of 182 bottles. Dumbarton made grain whisky from 1938 until its closure in 2002, mostly for Ballantine's. Its grain was the backbone of the Ballantine's blend for decades.

Made in the column stills before the distillery closed, for the light, sweet grain spirit Dumbarton was known for. Ex-Bourbon casks held the grain for decades, soft oak that drives the sweetness. Through the evaporative decades ellagitannins lend a polished grip while oak lactones deepen the coconut, mango and butterscotch building. Light grain takes oak readily, the ex-Bourbon lending coconut and vanilla over many years. With the distillery demolished, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock. A flock of around a hundred Chinese geese, the Scotch Watch, guarded its warehouses from 1959. With Dumbarton gone, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock.

At cask strength 57.1% it is full bodied. The ex-Bourbon gives coconut from oak lactones and vanilla from vanillin, over a buttery toffee. Soft toffee and vanilla sit behind the sweetness. The finish runs soft, sweet and warm. This is the sweet, oily grain of a vanished Lowland distillery.