Cambus 28 Years Old 1991 Cask #1115669 (Duncan Taylor)

This is a Cambus single grain, chosen and bottled by Duncan Taylor matured to 28 year old distilled in 1991, from cask 1115669 and bottled at 54.3%. 78 bottles in all. A lost Lowland grain distillery near Alloa, Cambus distilled from around 1806 until 1993. Cambus was once one of the largest grain distilleries in Scotland.

It was worked through continuous column stills from grain, for the light, sweet grain spirit Cambus was known for. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, lending coconut and vanilla. Past twenty five years the spirit turns oily and dessert sweet while staying clean. Decades in cask build a waxy, polished depth over the clean grain spirit. The spirit was drawn off two continuous Coffey stills, the water from the Lossburn Reservoir. Single grain Cambus is rare, mostly from independent bottlers and the odd Diageo Special Release. Alfred Barnard visited in 1885, noting six huge warehouses holding seventeen thousand casks.

At a natural 54.3% it is full and oily. The ex-Bourbon gives toffee, vanilla and a soft oil. Soft toffee and vanilla sit behind the sweetness. Crème brûlée and oak draw out the close. This is the deep, sweet grain of old Cambus.