Cambus 24 Years Old 1991 Cask #19879 (Valinch & Mallet)

This Cambus was from the independent bottler Valinch & Mallet matured to 24 year old distilled in 1991, from cask 19879 and bottled at 51.6%. Only 223 bottles were released. Cambus was a Lowland grain distillery on the River Devon in Clackmannanshire, founded around 1806 and closed in 1993. Single grain Cambus is rare, mostly from independent bottlers, with the odd Diageo Special Release.

The spirit was run off the distillery's continuous column stills, to build a soft, sweet grain character. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, lending coconut and vanilla. Around two decades the grain shows coconut, crème brûlée and an oily weight. Years in oak deepen the toffee and crème brûlée notes of aged grain. Alfred Barnard visited in 1885, noting six huge warehouses holding seventeen thousand casks. A fire destroyed the distillery in 1914; it was rebuilt and resumed in the late 1930s.

At a full 51.6% it is intense yet sweet. The ex-Bourbon gives crème brûlée, coconut and vanilla. The mouthfeel is oily, the coconut carried on a sweet body. A long, oily finish carries a coconut lift. This is an old Lowland single grain of real character.