Cambus 31 Years Old 1988 Cask #59251 (Blackadder)

This Cambus was from the independent bottler Blackadder, aged 31 year old distilled in 1988, from cask 59251 and bottled at 46.1%. 232 bottles in all. 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. A refill American oak cask held it, building the sweet, oily grain character. Beyond twenty five years the grain grows deep and oily, coconut, butterscotch and crème brûlée over polished oak. Years in oak deepen the toffee and crème brûlée notes of aged grain. In 1906 its grain was advertised as not a headache in a gallon, helping win the What is Whisky case. Closed in 1993, the site is now a Diageo cooperage beside the Blackgrange warehouses.

Undiluted at 46.1%, it is layered. The ex-Bourbon gives vanilla, cream and a dessert sweetness. A butterscotch and a creamy oak lift it. It finishes clean, sweet and buttery. This is an old Lowland single grain of real character.