Dumbarton 48 Years Old 1964 Cask #HH 9345 (Hunter Hamilton)

A 48 year old Dumbarton from the bottler Hunter Hamilton, distilled in 1964, from cask HH 9345, bottled at 50.1%. Dumbarton was Hiram Walker's great grain distillery, built to supply the Ballantine's blend. A flock of around a hundred Chinese geese, the Scotch Watch, guarded its warehouses from 1959.

The spirit was made in the column stills before the distillery closed, for a delicate spirit that leans on the cask with age. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak for decades, coconut, vanilla and a polished sweetness. Decades have drawn the grain to a tropical, oily delicacy, crème brûlée, coconut and a faint sotolon. Light grain takes oak readily, the ex-Bourbon lending coconut and vanilla over many years. With the distillery gone, the casks that remain are a finite record of its make. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the sweet, oily core over the decades. Closed in 2002 and since demolished, its profile is fixed for good.

At a hearty 50.1% it carries real weight. The American oak gives vanillin vanilla and lactone coconut, with a polished, toffee sweetness. Beneath it run coconut, vanilla and a soft oil. The finish is deep, oily and creamy. This is a finite single grain from the lost Dumbarton distillery.