Carsebridge 29 Years Old 1981 Cask #HH 6609 (Hunter Hamilton)

A 29 year old Carsebridge from Hunter Hamilton, distilled in 1981, from cask HH 6609, bottled at 53.1%. Carsebridge was a Lowland grain distillery at Alloa, closed in 1983 and since demolished. Water came from the Gartmorn Dam, one of the oldest man made reservoirs in Scotland.

The spirit was worked through continuous stills from grain, to build a soft, sweet grain character. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, vanilla and crème brûlée building with age. In the oxidative, evaporative years concentration deepens the oils, coconut, toffee and a tropical fruit emerging. Grain whisky like this rewards very long maturation, the wood giving most of the character. With the distillery long gone, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock. It was one of the grain distilleries that founded the Distillers Company in 1877. Patient ageing gives the oily, waxy texture prized in old single grain. With Carsebridge gone, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock.

Bottled at a cask strength 53.1%, it is rich. Oak lactones lend a deep coconut and vanillin a sweet vanilla, with a crème brûlée richness. Soft toffee and vanilla sit behind the sweetness. It closes long, sweet and oily. This is the sweet, oily grain of a vanished DCL distillery.