Soba45
Dumbarton 1964 51 Year Cask #11181 XOP (Douglas Laing)
Single Grain — Lowlands, Scotland
Reviewed
November 10, 2019 (edited November 13, 2019)
Odd to think in 1964 my dad was still training to be a catholic priest (spoiler alert he quit before he was ordained) and my mum was still at school. I wasn't even a twinkle in either of their eyes. It was that year this dram was distilled and laid to rest surfacing again in 2016 in the hands of D L who bottled it. I have no idea if anyone back then even knew it would be in a barrel for over half a century, which when you think about it is pretty fundamental to knowing what type of barrel and aging policy you will apply. A single refill hogshead was used. This grain distillery complex built in Dunbartonshire in the 1930s was the biggest of its time, and also housed the Inverleven and Lomond malt distilleries. Its whisky was mostly reserved for the Ballantine’s blend, and was never bottled as a single grain. The distillery was the home of the ‘Scotch Watch’, a 100-strong gaggle of Chinese white geese introduced by Hiram Walker in 1959 to protect Dumbarton’s whisky stocks from intruders. The birds became something of a tourist attraction and were even used to advertise the Ballantine’s blend. When Dumbarton finally closed in 2002, the geese stayed put, though 10 years later the remaining seven birds were finally retired and sent to live with an existing flock at Glasgow Green. The dram is a very nice one considering it's grain. Butterscotch, shortbread. Lovely balance and viscosity. Finish is a bit short and slightly grainish but again, even taking into account the potential monitoring and tasting process throughout it's lifetime, given 51 years ago they picked a barrel not knowing how long it would be laid down for it's impressive judgement..or very good luck. Nice way to hit the 700 mark.
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@Slainte-Mhath Here's hoping i get a tasting class with both!
@Slainte-Mhath Cheers :-). Yes I had a Caledonian which was stunning last year. Top 1% stuff.
@Soba45 and @cascode David Allen and Dave Broom are highly recommended for tastings. I attended their masterclasses at Oslo Whiskyfestival some years ago.
@Rick_M Does it matter if you have 100 or 1000 reviews? Quality is far more important than quantity, IMO.
@LeeEvolved You can't be serious - I've always valued your advice and enjoyed reading your reviews. The community wouldn't be the same without you!
@Soba45 Excellent review and congrats on reaching 700! Grain whiskies can be pretty delicious, especially at 30 years plus. I've been exploring a couple of old Invergordon's lately, all of which were superb. Cameronbridge, Caledonian and North British can be of interest as well. Some 40 year-old grains are available for about 200 £. I am actually planning to buy a few of these old grains, as they are pretty good value for money.
@cascode Yes I'd love to attend the session with Dave. Last time they had a free rock up on the day one where they cracked open a 1970s Black and White bottle which was crazy interesting. Like drinking molasses! I really rate Dave Broom and he always turns up as well. It's $135NZ for 10 hours over 2 days of unlimited drinking...it's honestly the best 10 hours of my life ever two years!
@Soba45 David Allen from Springbank is great value. I see they've also roped in Charlie Maclean. My copy of the 2020 Malt Yearbook arrived today and it has an excellent article about scotch whisky "regions" by him. Oh well, maybe I'll get to the next one.
@cascode Haha I can see how that would go down! The tickets sold out in a day or so. Saturday tickets took 30 mins, both Sat and Sun an hour or so then Sunday's allocation the next day. The special sessions with the distillery owners reps go in a split second. My favorites Springbank and Kilchoman will both be there. Hopefully I get to try the rum cask Finish you rated highly.
@Soba45 We need to do something about that. I was hoping to make it to Dramfest, but I forgot it's Mrs Cascode's birthday that weekend. I don't know how well that would go "Hey sweets, let's go to Christchurch for the weekend" "Oh, lovely idea" "Yes, and guess what, it just so happens there's a whisky festival on ..."
@cascode Cheers :-). Been great interacting along the way! I have an unopened bottle of Old Putney 21 with your name on it should I ever make it to Sydney :-).
Congratulations on the landmark - maybe BenRiach could be convinced to release a "Septingenti" expression to celebrate (700ml of course, not years :-) Concerned to hear all this nonsense about slowing down, however. Next you’ll be talking about new year resolutions 😉
@Soba45 - well deserved, congrats!
@Rick_M Time for a new icon I think. Brand refresh is due now I'm in the limelight...Haha
@Rick_M Cheers :-).Ah I am too. I was wondering how that works! An alarm must have gone off after I hit the 700 mark that I wasn't on there. I was wondering why I got a few unconnected likes and followings. Usually they come via the existing network. Here comes fame and stardom...or maybe I just skip directly to the faded star phase and become an alcoholic:-)
@soba45 - congrats! Just noticed you on the “you may want to follow” list. Have you been bribing management with some of your excess sample inventory? :)
@1901 Yeah I did the same with beer and wine. I stopped trying to keep up with beer and bar the occasional random sampling stick to a few good breweries I know. Wine I rarely drink now and similar...if wasn't for my 140 samples and Dramfest in March I'd be doing the same for spirits I think. :-)
@Soba45 haha. Here's to another 300 so. I do think there is a limit though. Not totally comparable but a few years back with the craft beer explosion I experimented with loads of different ones before getting tired of the hit and miss. I settled on 1 or 2 of my favourites and also settled back to the Smithwicks I enjoyed for 20 years beforehand!
@1901 haha.. good memory...I think the fact I forgot that shows why I should be slowing down. :-). I calculated the slow down will occur around the early to mid 900's mark.. I'll gracefully plod to 1000 and then who knows maybe become a teetotaler (spoiler alert I'm pretty sure I'll have forgotten saying that in the next 5 mins :-))
@Soba45 "I'll be showing down next year" Hmmm after hitting a dram a day average and winning a prestigious Distiller prize last year (a car, right?) I seem to recall you expressing a similar sentiment. One year later... ;-D
@Rick_M Cheers :-). I'll be slowing down early next year sometime in after Dramfest in March as my sample pile drys up and I'm unlikely to be sourcing anymore due to the stupid courier costings now. Also I feel I've done my dash a bit like Lee in terms of trying out the distillery's plus all the style variations. The newer ones are generally overpriced and generally not available. The plan going fwd is primarily to just work through my collection and only buy the occasional bottle which everyone here reckons blows their minds :-).
@geologyjane Cheers.:-). It's been a good one. I've enjoyed reading your and everyone elses reviews and interacting:-)
@PBMichiganWolverine Haha, yeah it's nice to try a slice of history now and then. I'm pretty sure that was my last whiskey one of over half a century in my stash so that'll be it for a very long time maybe even ever!
@LeeEvolved Ah good to hear it's not health problems or something. Was getting a bit worried there! Good to have a break, I go through periods occasionally. :-)
@Soba45 - congrats on 700! Thanks for sharing your journey with us!
@Soba45 on a related note—-you’re in a very small select minority having a 50+ yr old.
@Rick_M I actually thought of that, as well as the Samples by the Dram idea, where users can choose a pour from any of my bottles. Getting through state by state legislation is a pain
@PBMichiganWolverine - they may be getting more selective, but the key for them is to get a couple hundred dollars or more per lot. In the past they would group low-end bottles together to make that happen, but it does seem that they do less of that these days. This is also a good thing to keep in mind if you plan to collect. The US could certainly use another spirits auction company. Maybe it’s time to put our collections together. :)
@Rick_M when I approached Skinner, they were only interested in the ones I wasn’t ready to part with ( Karuizawa, Hanyu, Rosebank, Brora , and old Macallans) out of my collection at least
@Soba45 - well done! I’m wondering if I’ll ever make 100. :) @leeevolved - Just let it percolate for a few more years, then give it to Skinner in Boston. They have wine & spirits auctions every 60 days and people pay stupid money.
@LeeEvolved oh hell no. I have more than a few lifetimes worth of it.
@PBMichiganWolverine - if I could get a solid price I’d sell it all in one or two big deals. I’m not going to sell it off piece by piece- I don’t want to spend the extra time and effort it would take (unless I could get premium, secondary market prices lol). Otherwise, I suppose it’ll sit here collecting dust (and hopefully value). Would you like to make me a lucrative offer lol?
@LeeEvolved if you give it up and take the interests elsewhere—-what would you do with probably one of the best collections in VA? Sell ?
@Soba45 - I’ve practically lost the taste for the stuff. Haven’t bought a bottle since August. I’ve drank a couple pours of the Glenallachie 8, 10 & 12 (finished cask bottles) over the last month or so and jotted down notes- I just don’t have the desire to write or film reviews. Perhaps once golf season finally shuts down here in Virginia (later this month) I’ll get back into it.
@1901 Cheers. :-). Not sure how long the journey will continue but it's been great fun drinking and interacting with you all along the way!
Congrats on you Septingentesimus review!
@LeeEvolved Cheers :-). How's things going with you? Seems like you've been quieter on the whiskey drinking front over the last couple of months. Taking a break?
Congrats on 700! Nice achievement.