Daftmill 2006 Winter Batch Release (UK)

This was part of the SDT group, sampling, which now, seems like a hundred years ago when that journey took place. This unfortunately arrived with a cracked bottle top and I wound up with about a one ounce pour. But, one ounce is better than zero ounces. A soft, sweet fruity and floral nose. Freshly sliced unripened apples spritzed with lime juice. Lightly toasted wheat bread, coconut shavings, tea and honey, cream soda with a mineral element of raw, freshly opened clam shells. It arrives on the palate with a mild spicy edge with with flavors of vanilla, key lime, kiwi and almonds. The body is lightweight and velvety. There’s a nice long finish that’s drying with plenty of oak tannins, sweetened lime juice. A nice bouquet is bright, vibrant and luring with a palate . Though it is not broad in variety of flavors, those flavors that are very bold and distinctive. A nicely crafted spirit and I only wish I had more to experience. Thank to @Generously_Paul for the sample. [89/100][Tasted: 8/21/20]

Brown sugar and Carmel on the nose. Warm spice, vanilla and plum on the palate.

Stop number 112 on the SDT is Daftmill. This Lowland distillery is part of a working farm and is located entirely within a converted barn. The maximum annual output is an incredibly small 20,000 liters and they claim to only fill roughly 100 casks per year. They only distill twice per year in the winter and summer when the farm production is down. The 2006 Winter batch is their second release and consists of only 6 first fill bourbon casks (080/2006, 081/2006, 082/2006, 083/2006, 084/2006, 085/2006) which yielded 1625 bottles and was bottled on December 16th, 2018. Bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of pale straw. The nose starts off as a big ol’ pile of dry grass soaked in lemon/lime citrus. Green grapes, honey, malty, barley sugar. Creamy vanilla with bourbony oak. Pickled ginger, dried berries and a touch of mint. Green apples and underripe pears, pineapple, orange citrus, oranges & cream - very tropical without being over the top fruity. Slightly nutty, like almond flour, biscuity. A light and delicate arrival on the palate, very bright with lemon/lime citrus. A somewhat sharp bourbony oak that is more oak than bourbon, a bit floral. A very clean and pure spirit. Like the nose, this turns tropical, but maybe even more so. Pineapple, ginger, coconut, orange and maybe a little papaya. Some vanilla and a little peppery. A light to medium bodied mouthfeel that is creamy, mouth coating and dry. The finish is fairly short with oak, lime and pineapple. I have to say that at first I didn’t think much of this whisky. It came off as a bit boring. No peat, no sherry, no fancy wine cask finish...what’s the deal? Then I realized that this is simply a more traditional way of producing scotch. Quality first fill casks, aged to a maturity level and not just an age statement. No frills or finishes to cover up any blemishes. Other than wanting the finish to be a little stronger, there’s nothing really wrong with this single malt. I’m sure I’m 5-6 years they will have one fine 18 year old on their hands. 3.75-4 Cheers

Daftmill is one of the newer distilleries in Scotland. The thing about these guys that’s pretty surprising, though, is that they had enough capital funding so they didn’t have to release underaged or very young whisky to keep afloat. They were able to wait almost 12 years to release an official single malt whisky. This is the Winter 2006 distillate that was just bottled in 2018 and released in very limited amounts. This sample was graciously sent to me by my friend, @Generously_Paul, as we attempt to keep our Scottish Distillery Tour up to date. This malt is pale yellow and lightly oily in the Glencairn. There’s not much leg formation and only tiny, slow forming droplets thanks to the slightly higher ABV of 46%. I believe it is non-chill filtered and I doubt there’s added color. The nose is apples and fresh popcorn, raw, shelled peanuts and lime wedges. There’s a nice “minerality” to it as well. Some floral and perfume notes crept in along with a nice, soft hint of vanilla. Allowing this one to sit rewards you quite well. The palate is big time citrus to me. There’s an overwhelming Clynelish-like waxyness and very nice tropical fruit and pineapple slices. It comes across as lightly salted with an abundance of lime notes. This thing has lime flavor for days. The citrusy bite keeps the wax factor from becoming too sticky and I really liked that aspect. The finish reminded me of a very well made margarita. Fresh limes and salt linger on and on and there’s some nice agave fruit flavor that hangs around and coats everything. Some fresh oak ushers everything out the door at the very end and makes this a very good dram- whisky or otherwise. Overall, this is a fantastic spirit. Kudos to Daftmill for not rushing swill out the door early on. Waiting for a quality product speaks volumes to me and I’ll be on the lookout for anything and everything from these guys moving forward. If you can find a bottle of this for a decent price I highly recommend giving it a go- you won’t be disappointed. 4-4.25 stars. Cheers.

I had just got to the point of firmly believing that all new distilleries quickly put out their gut puke first products at silly prices, with huge fanfare and marketing bullshit. Take for example the likes of Abhainn Dearg Eden Mill and Glasgow. Three year crap products at Macallan prices. These crap products are then flipped for double and triple in the secondary market. No one tastes them. They just flip them. Gone are the days that distilleries like Kilchoman ( which were considered new a decade ago) would put out really good 3 yr olds at affordable $70 prices. Until now. Daftmill is the newest Lowlander, but it does things differently. First off, it’s not a 3 yr old that’s been placed out as a newbie. It’s a 12 yr old. Also, it’s micro-local distillery. It grows and malts Chariot barley in its own farms. It also doesn’t do a round-the-clock distillation. Instead it’s a seasonal distillery, like the way distilleries were hundreds of years ago. It distills only in-between harvests. This makes the output pretty small, like a craft distillery. This release for example was distilled in winter 2006 and released in winter 2018. Out of all the Lowlanders I’ve had, this really takes the crown. First whiff is fruit baskets galore. Think strawberry shortcake. Oily and thick mouthfeel, more strawberries and peaches. Just really well made. Instead of rushing things through, they took their time and did things right. Only 1600 bottles are generally released each season, and prices affordably at $100 or so...but retailers are now charging well over $200, and secondary prices are insane. If you can find it for $100, it’s probably the best $100 single malt you’ll have. I got mine for $125 from TWE, but minutes later, was all sold out. 1600 bottles aren’t much and will go quickly. Don’t pay secondary market ( over $700), and anything $100-200 is all perspective.