Dornoch Single Cask #001 3 Years Old 2017 (Ex-Bourbon)

This Dornoch, a 3 year old, from 2017, cask 001, at 59.4%, 893 bottles in all. Dornoch is a Highland single malt from a crowdfunded distillery devoted to old style production. It was founded in 2016 by Phil and Simon Thompson, funded by more than two hundred backers.

It was distilled in tiny stills and condensed in shell and tube condensers, building the heritage Dornoch style. It rested in an ex-Bourbon cask, the wood adding a light vanilla to the rich make. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and lactones a coconut, the spirit thick, oily and fruit driven. Old style production gives a young whisky with a richness beyond its years. The spirit is laid down in active oak, the fruit and oil carried through. The brothers set out to recreate the richer, fruitier style of Scotch made before the 1970s. The ex-Bourbon oak frames the rich make without hiding the heritage barley.

At its natural 59.4% it is concentrated and oily. Baked apple, oil and a creamy malt, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Orchard fruit and an oily malt sit behind the cask. Apple, malt and a light oak see out a long finish. This is a rich, oily Highland single malt.