Dufftown 2009 Cask #700215 Dram Collection (C & S)

C&S barreled version of distiller Dufftown was provided to the SDT by @PBMichiganWolverine. The previous reviews weren’t so upbeat and positive. How would it be for me? Aromas are muted by a heavy wood notes and alcohol. What it partially blocks are honey, white fruit, apricots and cinnamon, cereal, like cinnamon toast. The body is thin. The palate explodes with a blast of high heat. Once the fireball subsides, the cinnamon spices/cinnamon hots roll over about the tongue. The oak tannins and high alcohol suck all moisture from the palate. For the briefest if moments, vanilla and butterscotch sweetness can be detected. As the brevity of flavors flash past towards the final delivery, the orange bitter works it's way in to the start of the finish. The finish is all wood and oranges rinds that is long lasting and warming. Water manages the wild nature of the dram. But the addition washes out everything it touches and the whisky becomes drab and dull. The fireball explosion is the most memorable about this whisky. The aromas and flavors exists but they are jumbled and thrown about, ever so brief. This is one that requires work and tenacity and unfortunately whisky sipping should not be a chore. This one challenges the sense for sure. [82/100][Tasted: 3/30/18]

Stop number 66 on the SDT is Dufftown. This Speyside distillery is most used in blends but does release a few official bottlings. This bottle is from the independent bottlers at C & S. Matured 7 years, 5/6/2009-8/17/2016, in an ex bourbon barrel and this sample is from bottle 113 of 260 (love the transparency here). Bottled at cask strength of 58.8% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of a golden straw. The nose is heavily bourbon influenced. Minty bourbon soaked oak. Wood spices, heavy cinnamon and nutmeg. Some subdued vanilla, candy corn and cotton candy. The high ABV prevents much else from coming through so I had to add some water. Fruity notes appear in the form of apples, grapes, pineapple, oranges and apricots. Water also reveals a faint wood smoke. The palate is really more bourbon than it is scotch. Hot. Vanilla, caramel, toffee and some butterscotch. Nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. With a little water some honey notes and some barley come through. A little fruity with apples and pears. If you like bourbon more than scotch then this one is for you. A full bodied mouthfeel, very oily and mouthwatering. The finish is medium length. Bourbon, oak and cinnamon. I’m not really a fan of scotches that think they are bourbons. They are never as complex as they could be. I did enjoy the thick oily mouthfeel, but it was far too hot and intense to really enjoy neat. At $50 for 700mL it’s a great value considering it’s cask strength. Value or no, it’s not a whisky I will seek out. Thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample and I agree with @LeeEvolved about this making a good mixer with some cola. 2.75. Cheers

This rare, single barrel bottle from independent bottler C & S Dram Collection was a 7 year old, cask strength bottle provided by my friend Pranay for our Scottish Distillery Tour. It comes in at 58.8% and is a pale gold in the taster. It makes long, skinny legs when you spin it up. The nose is very American bourbon in style: lots of raw oak, sawdust and alcohol burn. It’s not until many minutes in does the faintest bit of cinnamon show up. Hot, hot, hot is the theme here. The palate, again, is all bourbon. Fresh cut pine and chopped oak with serious focus only on heat is what’s constantly present. There’s some cinnamon candy notes if you can withstand the burn. The finish is long, hot and overpowering. The high ABV leads to a harsh and dry finish and overall experience. There’s nothing subtle here and it’s just a power bomb assault on all of your senses. Pranay likened it to drain cleaner and may have used it for that purpose, literally. I don’t think it’s that bad, but there’s nothing here to contemplate, either. The remnants of the bottle would probably be put to use in my home as a mixer with cola, but straight out of the bottle I can’t give it more than 2-2.25 stars. It’s just too vicious. Thanks for the pour, @PBMichiganWolverine. Mark it down and move along. Cheers.

I’m batting 0-3 this week. This is my third offering for our trading team. Taste like monkey dung. And this is where you as the logical person would ask “how do you know, have you ever tasted monkey dung?’ Well yes sir and ma’am, I have, not on my own volition of course. Long story, but net -net, did you know monkeys can defecate at will, roll it into a ball, and throw it with such precision that it’ll make Tom Brady envious? Yes...lesson learned during a backpacking trip through Belize in my younger days. Anyway, this went down the drain. Not wasting my liver on it.