Daftmill 13 Years Old 2008 Cask #025/2008 (MoM)

A 13 year old Daftmill from the retailer Master of Malt, distilled in 2008, from cask 025/2008, bottled at 56.6%, one of 213 bottles. Daftmill is the patient farm malt of the Cuthbert brothers, distilled around the farming year. Maturation is mostly in ex-Bourbon casks, with a little sherry, in a dunnage warehouse on the farm.

Run through the distillery's small copper stills, giving the delicate, floral Lowland spirit. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla over the delicate spirit. In integration lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the spirit, lemon deepening to honey. Years in oak round the spirit, the grass and citrus deepening to honey and orchard fruit. Active wood frames the fruit without overwhelming the delicate, grassy spirit. The cool Lowland air gives a slow, even maturation in the farm dunnage warehouse. It is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, with a tiny annual output.

At 56.6%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. A light, floral fruitiness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A grassy citrus and a soft oak give it lift. Apple, honey and a soft oak see out the finish. This is an elegant, grassy Lowland malt of real finesse.