Port Dundas 26 Years Old 1991 Cask #50408 (Signatory Vintage)

Bottled by Signatory Vintage, this Port Dundas single grain matured to 26 year old, from 1991, drawn from cask 50408 and bottled at 57.3%. 235 bottles in all. Once a giant of Lowland grain whisky, Port Dundas was dating to 1811 in the heart of Glasgow's blending trade before being brought to an end in 2010. What survives is held by Diageo and a scattering of independent bottlers.

Distilled from unpeated wheat with a little malted barley and worked through continuous patent stills, it began as the light, sweet spirit grain whisky is known for. Ex-Bourbon oak held the spirit, the cask adding sweetness rather than weight. At this age grain grows rich and oily, the long oak contact building real depth. Continuous distillation strips the heavier notes, leaving a clean canvas for the wood.

Bottled at a cask strength 57.3%, it is rich. Lignin gives vanilla, oak lactones lend a soft coconut, and a creme brulee and butterscotch note, above the gentle grain sweetness beneath. It is plush and silky, the sweetness carried on an oily body. A creamy, lingering finish rounds it off. This is proof of how gracefully old grain can age.