Daftmill Single Cask 13 Years Old 2006 (57.4%)

Daftmill from the distillery, a 13 year old, from 2006, cask 089/2006, at 57.4%, 216 bottles in all. Daftmill is the patient farm malt of the Cuthbert brothers, distilled around the farming year. The first whisky was not released until 2018, more than a decade after distilling began.

The spirit was distilled in a single pair of onion shaped stills on farm well water, for a light, floral make of real finesse. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light honeyed vanilla. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the delicate body fuller and softer. A gentle maturation suits the light make, the fruit growing richer with time. The distillery runs only seasonally, in the quiet weeks of summer and winter between sowing and harvest. Active wood frames the fruit without overwhelming the delicate, grassy spirit. Years in oak round the spirit, the grass and citrus deepening to honey and orchard fruit.

At cask strength 57.4% it is full bodied. A clean, grassy citrus, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The texture is light and clean, the fruit lifted by vanilla. Apple, honey and a soft oak see out the finish. This is a light, floral Lowland single malt.