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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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September 30, 2026 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today, Dufftown |
The old official Dufftown-Glenlivets, especially those 8-year-old black labels, were splendid whiskies, but I’m afraid they’ve all but faded from memory by now. Never mind, we should soon get over it, or so we hope, with these two indies from a couple of well-known young bottlers… |
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Dufftown 16 yo 2008/2024 (51.5%, Thompson Bros., oloroso hogshead, 218 bottles) 
The label is splendid. Labels matter, don’t they? Colour: reddish amber. Nose: burnt caramel, dried ceps, metal polish, armagnac and old walnuts. Not nearly as odd as it sounds, mind you… With water: add some fresh potting compost and pinecones smouldering in the fireplace. Mouth (neat): quite improbable, like some very old oloroso blended with twenty per cent nocino. Rather gives the old vertebrae a jolt, but it’s splendid. With water: even more splendid, now we’re thinking of some old PX seco from Malaga. Finish: long, more balanced, with the faintest cardboardy touches, never troublesome, plus very dark chocolate and dark tobacco. Beef broth and smoked oysters in the aftertaste. Why does nobody ever mention smoked oysters? Are they really that rare? Comments: a properly old-school Dufftown. Admirable stuff, with only that faint touch of cardboard keeping it from reaching 90 in my little scoring system of no importance whatsoever.
SGP:362 - 89 points. |
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Dufftown 34 yo 1991/2026 (51.1%, WhiskyLand, Decadent Drinks, refill barrel, 159 bottles)
For once, I’m not entirely convinced by the label, although I suppose it must have something to do with contemporary Scottish urban culture. Duffzilla? I clearly don’t get out enough. Colour: gold. Nose: an old aluminium saucepan (takes me straight back to my army days) and gun oil (same comment), then in come the little yellow and white fruits, pears, plums and apples, with a slight young-calvados feel. I do mean ‘young’. I reckon water is going to cause a revolution here… With water: absolutely nothing, it moves no more than Mount Rushmore. Or Ben Nevis (the mountain). Mouth (neat): never, absolutely never, would you guess its 34 years, instead we’re getting a mixture of fresh walnuts, serviceberries, sesame oil and pistachio butter. All that with a pinch of sea salt. With water: this time it does unfold a little, towards green teas and hay, although the young walnuts remain firmly in charge. Finish: even more so in the aftertaste, with those apples we mentioned earlier joining them. Comments: it could be twenty years younger. It’s magnificent, although I slightly prefer the sheer extremities (?!) of the 2008 de la muerte.
SGP:451 – 88 points. |
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