Dumbarton 45 Years Old 1975 (Private Collection)

A Dumbarton single grain of a 45 year old chosen by the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, distilled in 1975, bottled at 44%, one of 93 bottles. Dumbarton, the largest continuous grain distillery in Scotland when it opened, closed in 2002. It closed in 2002 and the buildings, the red tower among them, were later demolished for housing.

The spirit was run off the distillery's continuous column stills, for a delicate spirit that leans on the cask with age. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness to the sweet, aged grain. At over four decades the light grain has turned deep and resinous, sotolon, coconut and old polished oak. Maturation in American oak suits the light, sweet grain particularly well. Grain whisky like this rewards very long maturation, the wood giving most of the character. Its iconic red brick tower, built to echo Hiram Walker's Canadian distillery, housed the continuous stills. No more will ever be made, the distillery silent since 2002.

At 44% it is clean, oily and sweet. The sherry lends dried fruit, fig and walnut, over coconut from oak lactones and a vanillin sweetness. Soft toffee and vanilla sit behind the sweetness. Toffee and vanilla see out a long finish. This is an old single grain from closed Dumbarton.