Mossburn Distillers Dufftown Tasting Notes

Mossburn Distillers No8 Dufftown 2008 (10 year old) 46%

Bourbon Hogshead/ Batch 06.0308.8/ Dist: 2008 Btl: Aug 2018/ Tasted: Feb 2019

The nose is quite fresh and citric with honey and toffee. Faintly industrial but that character is relatively well contained. Late acetone, gooseberry and herbal notes appear.

The palate is full and oily with more noticeable industrial character and toffee. Less balancing citrus notes which makes it less complex, although a touch of gooseberry and lime does come through on the middle. A little hot and bitter on the finish but it exits with some pleasant spice and herbal notes.

Cadenhead’s Dufftown Tasting Notes

Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection Dufftown-Glenlivet 2007 (12 year old) 53.6%

Bourbon/ Caribbean Rum Cask Finish (since Aug 2018)

Dist: 2007 Btl: Aug 2020/ Tasted: Aug 2021

The nose is a little spirity and there’s a very noticeable alcohol prickle. Slightly industrial with hard barley, oily feints and saline. Starchy/ oily rummy dried fruit appears along with a touch of gooseberry. Even by Duffer standards it’s a distinctly odd nose.

The palate opens with Speyside green fruit – gooseberry and green citrus fruit. Again there’s hard barley and a touch of feints although the sub-tropical rummy notes attempt to offset. Subtle creamy American oak on the middle. Masked, hard barley, white liquorice and sweet rum notes finish.

Water makes the nose, soapy and somewhat insubstantial. The palate is watery with wet cardboard and sugar!

Hunter Laing Dufftown Tasting Notes

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Dufftown 1995 (18 year old) 50%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2368/ HL10378

Dist: Aug 1995 Btl: Mar 2014/ Tasted: Apr 2014

A dusty and barley led nose. Slightly hard and only very slightly industrial with brittle honey, hints of malt, herbs, spice and edgy white fruit. There’s even a light kiwi fruit note!

The palate opens with a good degree of citrus and creamy oak. A little austere though as the hard barley arrives with a touch of green wood and a little (fusty) spice. A tad hot and spirity on the finish with that hard barley lingering along with a little green apple. The oak bitters a bit as well.

Hunter Laing Hepburns Choice Dufftown 2007 (9 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: HEP0249/ Dist: May 2007 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: Mar 2017

Aromas of damp earth, liqourice, malt, barley and lightly toffee’d oak. It’s a little raw and edgy, but there is a touch of estery fruit and the barley notes develop well.

The palate is relatively robust and barley’d. Relatively clean and displaying a pleasant barley sweetness. A little edgy citrus appears on the middle, but it doesn’t get bent out of shape. Good length with the oak coming through long with hints of greengage and white liquorice.

Hunter Laing Hepburns Choice Dufftown 2007 (10 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: HEP0310/ Dist: May 2007 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Apr 2018

The nose opens with lime and grapefruit, followed by sweet apricot and a touch of barley. Pretty clean and un-industrial with a good grassy freshness and hints of honey.

The palate displays a touch more barley and oak, thus taking the edge of the citric character. However, like the nose it’s pretty clean and subtly fragrant with a barley’f middle and finish.

Carn Mor Dufftown Tasting Notes

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Dufftown 2009 (7 year old) 46%

Bourbon Hoggshead/ Austrian Riesling Finish

Dist: 2009 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Sept 2016

Initially the aromas are heavy on the sweet-ish and petroly Riesling. Fresh white fruit, melon, barley, white liquorice, sweet vanilla and toffee follow as it settles down. There is a light industrial note beneath but there are plenty of other characteristics to balance.

The palate opens with a little more of the harder barley notes but again the wine finish softens. Hints of barley, grass and crisp citrus come through and lead into a slightly floral middle. Hang on, Dufftown, floral?! Good grief! The finish is a little hot but spicy. Finally the ‘distillery character’ returns but there’s enough lingering winey fruit to offset.

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Dufftown 2009 (9 year old) 46%

Bourbon Barrel/ Dist: 2009 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Jul 2018

Aromas of crisp, grape, white fruit, earth, white liquorice and lemon. For a young Dufftown it’s surprisingly un-feinty and almost appealing!

The palate is simple and oily with a touch of vanilla, but it lacks the crisper citric elements of the nose. Subtly barley but the oils are very overwhelming. Short and bitter with a lingering, light industrial note.

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Dufftown 2009 (10 year old) 47.5%

Bourbon Barrel/ Dist: 2009 Btl: 2019/ Tasted: Jan 2020

Dense and barley’d with plenty of toasty American oak and rye-like herbal notes. Late hints of white fruit and lime.

The palate opens with the barley and oak. Toasty, dense, vanilla’d with both rye and wood spice. A little astringent and citric on the middle with lime and gooseberry coming through. Becomes quite sour on the finish. Overall it’s very oak, but it’s clean.

Douglas McGibbon Dufftown Tasting Notes

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Dufftown 1999 (13 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: PRV0976/ DMG9659

Dist: Nov 1999 Btl: Apr 2013/ Tasted: May 2013

A hard, slightly industrial nose ( as expected) with hints of hard, candied barley, slightly sawdusty oak and earthy-coffee’d-spice.

The palate opens with the brittle barley, citrus and a touch of vanilla oak. A touch of stewed fruit becomes apparent on the middle as do some spices however it still finishes rather austere, alcoholic and hard.

MacPhail’s Dufftown Tasting Notes

Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseurs Choice’  Dufftown 1998 (13 year old) 43%

Refill Sherry Hogshead/ Dist: Dec 1998 Btl: Mar 2011/ Tasted: July 2011

A lovely, fresh, citrusy, grassy and herbal nose. Quite elegant and fruity with a touch of old straw. Soft and a touch confected on the palate and slightly watery. Fairly straightforward, yet a pleasant depth of straw like fruits.

A good length with the alcohol barrelling through on the finish along with hints of burnt caramel. Pleasant spicy after taste though. In conclusion: Pleasant if a bit unremarkable.

Murray McDavid Dufftown Tasting Notes

Murray McDavid Dufftown 1979 (17 year old) 46%

Fresh Sherry Cask MM1489 / Dist: Dec 1979 Btl: Aug 1997/ Tasted: Feb 2003

A stinky, earthy, vegetal Oloroso sherry nose with some rich fruit lurking and a distinct loamy/ soil character. The palate is concentrated Oloroso. A viscous, menthol laced soft fruit attack leads into a vegetal middle and a damp  soily finish.

Murray McDavid Maverick Dufftown 1993 (11 year old) 46%

Bourbon – Syrah finished/ Dist: 1993 Btl 2004/ Tasted: Mar 2006

The nose is unctuous and oily with rich almost sherried fruit, alcohol soaked fruit cake, nuts and a hint of earth. In the mouth it is a delight, full of orange and peach fruit and a touch of cream. Medium bodied and full of the Syrah enhanced spicy fruit coming through on the middle. Very long with the bourbon oak coming back on the finish.

Douglas Laing Dufftown Tasting Notes

Douglas Laing Old Particular Dufftown 1995 (18 year old) 48.4%

Bourbon/ Code: OLP0024/ Dist: Feb 1998 Btl: Apr 2015/ Tasted: May 2015

Initially the aromas are a little hard but the barley is quite fragrant. Lightly herbal with a touch of pollen and green fruit. With time a touch of toffee comes through.

The toffee appears first on the palate followed by the green fruit and herbal notes. A little industrial on the middle but the toffee is working hard to keep it contained! Medium length. Quite citric and a little hot on the finish. Lightly smoked after-taste.

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Douglas Laing Directors Cut Dufftown 1982 (30 year old) 51.7%

First Fill(?) Sherry/Code: DIR0018/ DL8232

Dist: Mar 1982 Btl: Mar 2012/ Tasted: Apr 2012

A rich, very mature sherried nose of slightly balsamic, macerated fruit, liquorice, treacle and wood smoke. Edgy and ever so slightly industrial (there’s no escaping that Dufftown character) but there’s no doubting that this nose has a sublime depth to it.

Wonderfully mature on the palate. Time and oxidation has given it an almost Armagnac-esque rancio with treacle coated dark fruit and plenty of building, yet soft tannins. Heavily sherried but bursting with liquorice accented dried fruit and a beautiful array of mature spice. Yes it’s quite woody but it’s also extremely well balanced.

A drop of water makes the nose wonderfully aromatic allowing more raisinated fruit to show along with pepper, clove and a hint of old wood vanillins. It has also lost the slight balsamic/ industrial note as dilution opens it out quite nicely. The palate has become lighter now and a little peppery mature marc notes appear as the sherry is pushed back. Very long with a dusty spice coated juicy dried date and sultana finish. Stunning stuff.

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Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Dufftown 1992 (28 year old) 50%

Bourbon/ Code: OMC2035/ Dist Nov 1992 Btl: June 2011/ Tasted: June 2011

Hold the front page!!!!!!………. The nose isn’t too bad! Yes it is still industrial (there’s no escaping the distillery character) but there is plenty of barley sugar and honey to balance out the industrialness. Hang on this is remarkably complex. There are hints of walnuts, fragrant Lilly and plenty of manly, oily honey and sawdusty/ violet tinged oak. OMG!! This is actually (dare I say it!) Very good. Imagine a mature Glen Grant roughing it and you will see what I mean.

The palate is a text book example of controlled oiliness. Not too heavy and not too light. It liberally coats the hard edged barley and honey, which amazingly keeps the industrial roughness at bay. The middle is redolent of old marc with hints of liquorice, greenish walnuts, plump juicy sultana, macerated prunes and an Armagnac-esque dried fruit rancio. Finally ending with a burnt rubber and hot alcohol note (well it is still Dufftown!)

All I can say is this is a unicorn, a mythic beast – It’s a bottling of Dufftown I’d actually like to drink, and I never though I’d say that!!

Douglas Laing Old Malt Dufftown 1982 (30 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2224/ DL9272

Dist: Nov 1982 Btl: Nov 2012/ Tasted: Jan 2013

Lightly oily and industrial aromas with a rather pleasant floral/ citrus edge. The distillery ‘character’ is balanced by a huge dollop of mature honey, which builds and becomes the focal point of the nose. Light, dusty spice and a touch of liquorice appears.

The palate is lightly oiled, opening with some hard barley but like the nose it is softened by the honey. Quite floral, if a little spirity and hard on the middle with the oily, mature honey developing rather pleasantly. Quite a woody, fine grained tannin finish, which brings some dry spice.

Dewar Rattray Dufftown Tasting Notes

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Dufftown 1976 (32 year old) 55.4%

Bourbon Cask 7753/ Dist: 1976 Btl: 2008/ Tasted: Oct 2008

Faintly rubbery aromas of old vegetation – yum! (Note the sarcasm!) There’s some mature orange fruit but the rubber becomes more intrusive. Like the distillery bottling its not subtle, earthy and rustic would be the kind way of putting it.

The palate is oily, mature and earthy with a rubbery middle (surprise!). It’s redolent of old fruit, decaying rose petals, manure and alcohol! – Yes it’s that pleasant!

A drop of water isn’t much help in fact it my notes say – Yuk, earthy, manure and old rose water with a side serving of old rubber! Enough said!

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Dufftown 1976 (35 year old) 58%

Bourbon cask 7743/ Dist: 1976 Btl: Feb 2012/ Tasted: Feb 2012

A big, brawny nose of bruised honey and succulent dried fruit. There is still an undeniable touch of the industrial about this (farmyards and manure).However it is very complex with some fleshy almost agave notes followed by roughly, burnt coffee grains, but, and this is the big but, that lovely mature honey and oak is keeping all that industrialness warped up in a blanket. Although every now and again it does yell ‘I’m a Dufftown goddamn it!’ But damn it’s good! I think I need to sit down!

The palate opens with some hard barley with a gentle industrial note. Burnt coffee grains and a forest full of tannins follow. The oils and alcohol build in intensity along with an almost floral marc-like note and a touch of decaying straw. My god it has an alcohol punch at the finish. A rough and ready Dufftown with enough mature honey to round off the edges!

Diluted the nose becomes a tad cleaner and leaner, but the coffee notes have become quite herbal now. In fact you might be forgiven for thinking this was from a refill-sherry cask given the abundance of herbal notes. The palate is ever so slightly watery and a touch confected, again revelling in that herbal pusedo-sherry character. Very oily now with the hard as nails barley more prominent and a serious amount of pepper on the finish. Still it is actually quite enjoyable, and definitely not dull!

Dewar Rattray Dufftown 1976 (35 year old) 58%

Bourbon cask 7742/ Dist: 1976 Btl: Feb 2012/ Tasted: Mar 2012

Oh my God. Surprisingly cultured and distinctly un-industrial! Those are definitely words I never though would come to mind when tasting a duffer! The aromas are quite dense and herbal with no shortage of mature honey, liberally sprinkled with icing sugar. There is a hint of roughly sawn, slightly damp timber which morphs into an earthy kind of character and there is even a slight violety note. Now eyes closed you could almost mistake if for an old Glenrothes, albeit from the wrong side of town!

Soft, gentle and quite oily on the palate, opening with plenty of wood tannins and sweet wood spices. Now at this point it could have become mouth puckeringly dry, but…… it doesn’t! The sumptuous, mature, herbal honey puts a stop to that and it evolves into a lovely macerated, liquorice mouthful. A bit piquant and edgy on the middle but a lovely barley light sugar comes back, mingles with some garnity/ mineral notes. Only in the after taste does it reveal that’s it’s a Dufftown, but only in a controlled, earthy, un-musty, un-industrial, un-murky fashion! Good grief! This is a superb old duffer! Is this a fluke? Who knows, just buy it and enjoy this very unlikely experience!

Bladnoch Forum Dufftown Tasting Notes

Bladnoch Forum Dufftown 1982 (26 year old) 53.8%

Hogshead 18586/ Dist: 1982 Btl: 2009/ Tasted: Sept 2009

The nose has a light re-fill sherry character to it with mature honey, hickory and wood spices. It’s quite pleasant by Dufftown standards but there is no getting away from the expected slightly earthy-murky note often associated with this distillery.

The palate opens with that almost re-fill sherry note along with some brittle barley and honey. Like the nose the ‘distillery character’ asserts itself with a tart sharpness and after the alcohol passes it leaves a distinctly metallic note behind.

A drop of water brings out a slight linseed/ turpentine note. On the palate, like the nose has become oilier with a briefly sugared light engine oil character. It is a classic down and dirty Dufftown, with a hard, quite woody finish. I actually quiet enjoyed it in a masochistic kind of way.