Port Dundas 18 Years Old 2006 Cask #W8 12815 (The Whisky Warehouse No.8 (WW8))

From The Whisky Warehouse No.8 (WW8) comes this Port Dundas single grain, aged 18 year old, from 2006, drawn from cask W8 12815 and bottled at 58.1%. A small release of 139 bottles. Dating to 1811 in the heart of Glasgow's blending trade, Port Dundas grew into one of Scotland's great grain distilleries before being closed in 2010 just short of two centuries. After closure its casks passed largely to independent bottlers and a few official releases.

Grain whisky like this was made in patent column stills rather than pot stills on a wheat led mash with Loch Katrine water, giving a soft, clean grain spirit. Ex-Bourbon ageing then a Marsala cask gave a base of vanilla and coconut lifted by raisin and brown sugar. Well into its second decade, the spirit has softened and the cask sweetness come forward. Each year in the warehouse softened the spirit and deepened the cask sweetness.

Bottled without water at 58.1%, it is robust. The Marsala adds raisin and brown sugar, while the oak lends a soft vanilla, with coconut and cream from the lactones and caramelised wood sugars a toffee sweetness, over the orchard and tropical fruit of mature grain. It is round and creamy on the palate, sweet without cloying. The finish is creamy and slow to fade. This is a piece of Glasgow distilling history in the glass.