Port Dundas 14 Years Old 2009 Cask #728271 (Whiskydudes)

Whiskydudes selected this single grain Port Dundas, 14 year old in the wood, from 2009, drawn from cask 728271 and bottled at 59.7%. Just 100 bottles were filled. A major grain distillery, Port Dundas was founded in 1811 in the north of Glasgow and closed in 2010 after two hundred years. Single grain in its own right was always a sideline to its work for the blenders.

Distilled using wheat, malted barley and soft Loch Katrine water and distilled continuously in tall Coffey column stills, it began as a clean, sweet grain spirit. An Amontillado cask, an oxidative sherry between dry Fino and rich Oloroso, lent a nutty, dried fruit edge. Well into its second decade, the spirit has softened and the cask sweetness come forward. Refill oak, having given its sharpest compounds to an earlier fill, works slowly and lets the spirit lead.

At 59.7%, undiluted, it is concentrated. The Amontillado lends hazelnut and dried fruit, while a clear vanilla rises from the lignin, coconut follows from the lactones, and caramelised sugars a toffee and creme brulee note, across a soft, fruity grain backbone. Sweet and creamy, it coats the palate gently. It fades slowly on vanilla and oak. This is a collectable remnant of a closed Glasgow giant.