Dufftown 12 Years Old 2007 Cask #208 (A.D. Rattray)

This Dufftown was bottled by A.D. Rattray, a 12 year old, distilled in 2007, from cask 208, bottled at 57.1%, one of 263 bottles. Dufftown is a nutty, malty Speyside single malt from the malt whisky capital of the world. In recent years the ferment was lengthened and the wort run clear for a grassier make.

The spirit was distilled from unpeated Speyside malt in the distillery's six stills, for a soft, nutty, fruit driven make. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the malt. By the integrating teens congeners fade and esters build, the nutty, malty spirit growing rounder. A gentle maturation suits the smooth make, the nutty malt growing richer with time. The Singleton style leans on a mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry oak. Years in oak round the spirit, the green apple and malt deepening to honey. The clean, grassy spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and honey to the fore.

At cask strength 57.1% it is full bodied. Green apple, malt and a soft vanilla, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The texture is smooth and creamy, the fruit lifted by vanilla. Apple, nut and a soft oak see out the finish. This is an approachable Speyside single malt.