Port Dundas 1988 28 Year Clan Denny (Douglas McGibbon)

Like a bear out of hibernation, I know I am REALLY late to the party. Music and Parks on the Air, Inc. have been taking up all my "extra" time. This was a treat though, and that is saying a ton coming from someone who is NOT in to grain whisky. This is the only reason I took so long. I didn't want to come into @Generously_Paul doing a gracious pour and come out being unappreciative. Wow, this one changed the game a bit. You see, @PBMichiganWolverine (Pranay) DID wow me with his Invergordon higher age statement a while back, BUT I was NOT a fan of the other various grain distilleries. Sorry for the delay on this as well @Scott_E and @LeeEvolved! It's good to see you guys still doing them! Anyway, back to this one! The nose brought out the fresh cut wood, but also a nice balance with a slight funkiness. Antique shop type. Slight pickling detected, but nothing out of line. Cherries, oranges, and other citrus fruits. Honeysuckle, and slight florals like a marigold. Not shabby at all! Slow running legs down the Glencairn. Palate did not disappoint at all, much better than expected with a great mouth coat. Dried fruits like apricots are more in your face. Slight leathery note, some watermelon and mango. Long finish, with more of the dried fruits and slight tobacco note. Adding drop of water, the nose changed to more of a surge of sugary sweetness. Light brown sugar/confection or powdered sugar. Lessen the fruit, but brought forth a nutmeg flavor or Chinese five spice, without any anise or licorice notes. For all the "old school" fans, we need a song eh? Since "time" seems to be the theme for dealing with great whisky, appreciating the pour, and the time it takes to form these great relationships, let's celebrate and say the theme is "Time Has a Way" by the Pattern-Seeking Animals. One of my all time favorite bass players, Dave Meros, shows off the bass parts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTeWkAwUDOM

I’m always thankful for getting to sample ghost distilleries; they’re neither cheap or easy to come by. This one was sent courtesy of @Generously_Paul. Port Dundas’ demise was a bit different than others like Brora , Rosebank, Karuizawa, etc. While those shut down due to economic downturns and moving away from single malts to blends, this one shut down rather recently in 2011 from a strictly business decision. Diageo decided to concentrate its grain whisky investment into Cameronbridge and not Port Dundas. Diageo leveraged Cameronbridge for blends, gins (Tanqueray) and vodka ( Smirnoff). The rest—-well, Port Dundas went to the wayside a while Cameronbridge flourished. Onto to the tasting:. Unlike @LeeEvolved below, I’m not enjoying the nose at all—-I’m getting a very grain-y industrial aroma. But for me, the palette is where it shines. You gotta let this one sit out a bit. A few drops of water, and flavors open up to a tropical fruit plate. Pineapple and coconut at the onset. Lingering finish. If not for the disappointing nose, a solid 4.5-4.75. I just couldn’t get past the industrial grain scent. But palette is amazing. Without smelling it and simply tasting it blind, I’d not guess this was a grain whisky. Palette for me is steps ahead of the nose. But more importantly, it’s something to cherish—-a ghost isn’t easy to come by, and for that I’m extra thankful to @Generously_Paul.

Well, it’s time for a little trip down memory lane with my cohorts from the Scottish Distillery Tour. We finished the bulk of this quest in the Fall of 2018, but my buddy @Generously_Paul suggested that we scour the earth for some samples from closed distilleries while we wait for the new ones to release some fresh juice. He found this well-aged, grain whisky from Port Dundas and graciously shared it with the group. Thanks again, bro. Please see Paul’s review for the history of the distillery and the deets about this particular bottle, from independent bottlers Clan Denny. This stuff was distilled in 1988 and bottled in 2017- making it 28 years old, its obviously non-chill filtered and has no added coloring and the whisky rested in refilled hogsheads for its entire slumber. It’s bottled at 50% ABV and is light gold with thin legs and medium-to-large drops that run quickly down the Glencairn. The nose, well, is nothing short of spectacular: juicy pineapple, toffee and sugarcane bring the sweetness in with an astounding “how do you do”. It shows some ginger root spice with a hint of oak bitterness to balance the nose quite respectfully. There’s a buttery undertone that wafts from the glass after a quick spin, as well. But, man, those pineapple notes really got the mouth watering. Diving in for the sip, I’m greeted with those same tropical notes, especially pineapple and ripe melon, some fresh honey and malt. Oak tannins arrive mid sip, along with that ginger bite I detected on the nose, and the oily mouth coat turned slowly dry. The ginger and bitter notes chased the pineapple away much sooner than I would’ve liked, but this is whisky we are drinking and not some tropical smoothie. The finish was medium length and oak forward. Lingering malt notes that ultimately left a dry feeling was the only let down I experienced here. The empty glass did provide some memory of the tropical fruit and I did find myself poking my nose back in there several times after the party was over. Overall, this didn’t strike me as a grain whisky- other than the dry finish. The age clearly played the key role here and the fact that even though these were refill casks there was still plenty of life left in them. Sadly, this bottling has probably long since disappeared and it would be a massive undertaking to try and find more, but I would jump at the chance to get my hands on one. It’s hard to say what it’s worth, money-wise, but this was a quality dram that any grain whisky fan would love. 4.25 stars and thanks again for the experience, Paul. Cheers.

Stop number 108 on the newly extended SDT is Port Dundas. A Lowland distillery that was built in 1811 and demolished 200 years later in 2011. At one time in the late 19th century it was the largest distillery in Scotland. As it was only recently closed down, there are still some bottles available on the market, but all are from independent bottlers as I believe there were no official bottlings released. This 28 year old single grain scotch is from the Clan Denny line from Douglas McGibbon & Co. A single cask (cask# DMG11753, a refill hogshead) that was filled in October of 1988 and bottled in May of 2017. Bottled at 50% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of yellow gold. My bottle is number 6 of 249. Speaking of bottles, the label on this one is quite ornate and comes of as very classy. A word of advise to my SDT cohorts @LeeEvolved @PBMichiganWolverine @Scott_E and @Telex ...like a well aged single malt, this single grain needs time in the glass to compose itself before it is ready for the big show. Would you expect Mike Tyson to roll out of bed, throw on some gloves and go toe to toe with Evander Holyfield? No, he needs to warm up first! The nose has an initial nip of grain alcohol but that quickly subsides. Wood spices follow in the form of ginger, cinnamon, clove, and anise. Light vanilla, toffee, burnt sugar, caramel and maple. After more time the vanilla becomes much more pronounced along with some brown sugar. Caramelized banana, some light pineapple and tobacco and dry grass. Buttery corn and slightly meaty. I get a familiar malty biscuit aroma even though there is no malted barley here, weird. Some faint menthol or eucalyptus rounds everything out. Not too shabby at all. An intense arrival on the palate that has just the right amount of heat, but also quite fruity. Coconut and pineapple aplenty with something like grapefruit but not as sour or citrusy. Possibly kiwi with some honeydew and green grapes. Vanilla and some bitter tannins but I have to say they work with the profile rather than against it. Ginger, oak, toffee, some pepper and a touch of honey. Sweet corn (even though I believe this is wheat based), clove and more ginger. A medium bodied mouthfeel that is both creamy and oily, dry. The finish is medium long with toffee, vanilla and oak, dry. The bar for single grain scotch whisky is low, so low you are more likely to trip over it than hit your head on it. This Port Dundas however, has raised that bar, perhaps knee hight. 28 years did wonders here and it provided further evidence that grain whiskies need 2-3 times the age of their malt whisky counterparts to really shine. The palate reminded me somewhat of the Bowmore Gold Reef and White Sands, which made me imagine that this is what an unpeated Bowmore might taste like. I got this bottle at auction for $85, which now seems like a complete steal. I would recommend anyone out there interested in trying older grain whiskies to seek them out. Stick to over 25 years old though. I kept going back and forth between a 4 and a 4.25, but all things considered I’m going with 4.25. Cheers