Port Dundas 23 Year Old 1995 The Ultimate Cask Strength

Did you know that the Port Dundas Distillery was founded in 1811 by Daniel MacFarlane but that in 1813 Brown, Goulier & Co built a second distillery in the same industrial area north of Glasgow and actually called… Port Dundas Distillery as well? That would be quite impossible today, of course. In 1865 they merged and in 2009 the distillery closed. I’ll try a grain from 1995 at cask strength bottled by the Dutch company van Wees under their The Ultimate label.

Classic, very sweet nose. Caramel, butterscotch, Werther’s Original and toffee. All cousins, of course. That is joined by famer’s butter, banana candy, coconut and milk chocolate. Hint of nougat and marzipan. Wilde flowers and candied sugar. Nice mix and while rather simple, pretty inviting as well.

Pretty smooth arrival despite the high ABV. Immediately some spices, naturally. Think cinnamon, white pepper and ginger. Some liquorice too. But then the sweetness kicks in with a vengeance: caramel, chocolate, coconut and some vanilla ice cream. Liquid dessert. Not complex, but simply very good.

The finish is pleasantly long, a bit warm and drying, but sweet until the end, as if I have a cube of cane sugar in my mouth.

Not a grand grain, but very pleasant. Put this on the table while playing a board game and the bottle will not survive the evening. Thanks for the sample, Manny!