Dumbarton – 23 Year Old 2000 Dram Mor Single Refill Bourbon Cask #211885 (2023) (70cl, 57.1%)

A 23 year old single grain Scotch whisky from Dumbarton in the Lowlands, distilled in 2000 and bottled by Dràm Mòr from a single refill bourbon cask. It is bottled at 57.1% ABV in a 70cl bottle, and 182 bottles were drawn from the cask. The Dumbarton grain distillery was built in Dunbartonshire in the 1930s and used American-style stainless steel columns and maize. Most of its whisky went into the Ballantine's blend and the distillery never bottled it as a single grain, so independent releases like this are the way it appears on its own. The nose is creamy vanilla with cherry pie and sweet shortcrust pastry. The palate is sweet and buttery, with delicate mixed spice, and the finish is warming and firmer than expected.