Cambus 27 Years Old 1988 Closed Distilleries (Part des Anges)

Part des Anges selected this Cambus, a 27 year old release distilled in 1988 and bottled at 52%. A release of 228 bottles. Cambus, one of Scotland's oldest grain distilleries, ran near Alloa from about 1806 until its closure in 1993. In 1906 its grain was advertised on the front of the Daily Mail as not a headache in a gallon, during the What is Whisky debate.

It was drawn from Coffey stills on Lossburn Reservoir water, for a delicate spirit that leans on the cask with age. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, with vanilla and crème brûlée. At this age it is rich and waxy, the sweet grain folded into a buttery, oily body. Long ageing turns light grain into a deep, oily, dessert sweet whisky. A fire destroyed the distillery in 1914; it was rebuilt and resumed in the late 1930s. Cambus was once one of the largest grain distilleries in Scotland. Most surviving Cambus was distilled in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before the doors closed.

At its natural 52% it is concentrated. The ex-Bourbon gives a sweet, oily vanilla. It is soft and deep, the grain and oak well matched. A long, oily finish carries a coconut lift. This is the sweet, oily grain of a vanished DCL distillery.