Dumbarton 25 Years Old 2000 Cask #211103 (Malt Squared)

A Dumbarton single grain of a 25 year old chosen by the bottler Malt Squared, distilled in 2000, from cask 211103, bottled at 58.6%, one of 196 bottles. Dumbarton was Hiram Walker's great grain distillery, built to supply the Ballantine's blend. The geese featured in Ballantine's advertising and became a local landmark before being retired in 2012.

The spirit was drawn from the stainless steel columns on the banks of the Leven, to build a soft, sweet grain character. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, vanilla and crème brûlée building with age. In the oxidative, evaporative years concentration deepens the oils, coconut, toffee and a tropical fruit emerging. Continuous distillation gives a light, clean spirit, so decades in oak drive much of the flavour. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the sweet, oily core over the decades. With Dumbarton gone, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock.

At a natural 58.6% it is full and oily. Oak lactones lend a deep coconut and vanillin a sweet vanilla, with a crème brûlée richness. A creme brulee and a polished oak give it depth. A long, oily finish carries a coconut lift. This is the sweet, oily grain of a vanished Lowland distillery.