Scotch Whisky Review: Daftmill 2006 15 Year Cask Strength / 55.7% ABV
I love Daftmill, but so far I’ve only had a chance to try some of the annual regular releases.
Daftmill 2006 15 Year Cask Strength / 55.7% ABV
Tasted neat
Today, I have a special Daftmill, distilled in 2006 and bottled in 2022 from 28 first-fill ex-bourbon barrels at cask strength. It uses local Chariot barley from the Cutherbert family’s farm in Fife, harvested in August 2004 from Dam Park and Curling Pond, and malted by the late Robert Kilgour & Co before they closed.
One of 5338 bottles.
- Color: 1.0 (deep copper)
- Nose: ethanol, floral — jasmine, honeysuckle, croissant pastry, hazelnuts, pineapple, and lime
- Taste: chewy, nutty, cheesy, oily with icing sugar and cake, graham crackers, mixed nuts, tropical fruits, and feta cheese
- Finish: medium; a little sweet, with some oak and lingering tannins
This has been selling on auctions for around 150–160 hammer, which is where I got this bottle, and is a decent deal in my opinion. The scale at which Daftmill operates is “micro”, and so it’s really nice to get my hands on their stuff.
If you like the regular strength releases, the cask strength release is the same, but more intense. The flavours are stronger; some subtle notes come to the front more easily.
This is not the most complex whisky, but it’s incredible unique and delicious. I look forward to Kingsbarn providing some competition in the space — when I tried it, I said “it’s baby Daftmill”. It will be hard to compete with the terroir here, though — farm to bottle!
Rating: 8/10
