Daftmill, Obscurities & Chorlton

Welcome back to another month of Mr Dram Man and we are in for a treat this month.

Firstly, last months poll results:

Tri Carragh 12yr Glen Elgin	60%
Wormtub Cask Strength 10yr	20%
Craigellachie 13	20%

In the realm of Scotch whisky, uncovering hidden gems is akin to discovering buried treasure. North Star, renowned for its commitment to unearthing the extraordinary, introduces this elusive find from the Highlands in its Obscurities and Curiosities range. This lesser-seen distillery's essence is captured in this bottle, showcasing an interesting single malt. The nose evokes a symphony of flavours, including crisp orchard apples, tantalizing candied lemon, and hint Bassets Liquorice Allsorts and  a hint of cinnamon. On the mouth there is a note of fennel, classic highland peat and crisp citrus sweetness. There is so much going on in my mouth here that it doesn’t really give your taste buds a chance to rest until the medium finish starts to subside. This bottle has actually pleasantly surprised me – I was expecting just a standard okay single malt – however this is bursting full of flavours and delight and at a good price under £38 in most places. 82/100

Introducing the Daftmill 2010 Winter Batch Release, a sought after bottling (as are most bottlings from Daftmill), this particular expression, a testament to the Lowlands rich terroir. Daftmill pride themselves on growing and malting their own barley on their farm in Fife, and combining that with the water from its own artesian well to produce a truly unique new make liquid. In this case they have left it to rest in ex-bourbon barrels in the winter of 2010 before bottling it in the winter of 2023. On the nose this is bursting with the essence of a sun-kissed harvest, freshly harvested fields, and summer citrus fruits. A subtle hint of fresh rain on a dry summers evening adds a refreshing touch. While the earthiness of grass, wildflowers and soil grounds the palate in nature's embrace. Venture deeper, and you'll encounter creamy fruits reminiscent of sprawling farmland, accompanied by the comforting warmth of Autumnal woodland and the flicker of cinnamon and vanilla candles. The journey concludes with the lingering sweetness of boiled sweets. We talk about smooth finishes when we taste whisky, how it makes our mouths feel as we swallow it, and there is a scale of super smooth to a punch in the face (often due to the alcohol %) however, although this is bottled at 46%, it is almost too smooth – its missing that bit of punch at the end in my personal opinion. 85/100

To finish we have a bottling of Glen Ord 8yr old from Chorlton Whisky. This has been left to mature for 8yrs in a PX cask, leaving this dark auburn colour, and bottle at cask strength for a release of only 304 bottles. Chorlton do a lot of things right when it comes to their bottlings, and this is on point. The nose is swimming with syruped stewed fruits, Werther’s originals, fresh dates (classic PX note) and the smell of ripe banana. If you didn’t know already that this was cask strength, you do now as your nostrils burn a little. This leads to delicious palate of smokey nougat, salted peanuts and molasses, with that hint of ripe bananas following through. And with the finish here we have gone from one extreme to the other with this providing an absolute smack in the face with the sweetness of dried dates and banana lingering on long after its gone. This is punchy, and if the finish isn’t for you, try a couple of drops of water. 85/100

Which was your favourite?

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  Teaninch 11yr
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  Daftmill 2010 Winter Batch Release
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  Chorlton Glen Ord 8yr