Dufftown Batch 1 (TBWC)

A Dufftown of a 40 year old chosen by the bottler That Boutique-y Whisky Company, bottled at 47.5%, one of 164 bottles. Dufftown is a Speyside malt built for the blender's art and now bottled as a single malt in its own right. The town of Dufftown holds the highest concentration of distilleries in Scotland.

It was distilled for the nutty, malty character Dufftown is known for, the long ferment building a grassy, fruity character. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending vanilla and a little coconut. At a great, fragile age oxidation rules, sotolon lending maple and dried fig as beeswax and a nutty honey linger. Water from Jock's Well and a long ferment give the clean Dufftown make. Its water is drawn from Jock's Well, an artesian spring in the Conval Hills. Maturation in the eight Dufftown warehouses is slow and steady. The slow distillation gives a smooth spirit that takes well to the cask.

At 47.5%, undiluted, it is deep and malty. Honey, nut and a touch of spice, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Soft orchard fruit and a nutty malt sit behind the cask. The finish is smooth, nutty and gently spiced. This is Dufftown's nutty, malty Speyside style.