IB Duncan Taylor 34yo 1973 54.5% - Port Dundas

[Willie JJ]

Expression - Port Dundas 34yo
ABV - 54.5%
Cask No. - 128321
Colour - Mahogany
Nose - Hmm this really is sulphury. There is vanilla and shortbread there, but the sulphur seems to be suppressing the fruit I expected to find. There's a bit of gravy from the bottom of the roasting tin.
Palate - I can feel the sulphur closing down my taste buds. Only the shortbread is fighting through, although there is a late squeeze of orangey fruit that lifts it. Repeated sipping seems to allow the palate to adjust and let the juicy oranges come through. Too anaesthetised to pick up much else though. I'm starting to really enjoy this.
Finish - Long and tingling.
Comments - It's sulphured, but if you dig around and keep sipping the underlying dram pulls through. I think I need to try this again on a fresh palate.

[C57]

Port Dundas 1973 34yo 54.5% (courtesy Ras Mazunga)

Nose: Massively sweet with a load of vanilla, sweet sugars and maybe even chocolate. Fruity too.

Palate: Very bourbon I think. Now I haven't been a great fan of bourbon (though I'm starting to learn) but this could help sway me? Lots of oaky flavours. And some coconut?

Finish: Quite long Lots of oak and vanilla. Powerful.

Overall I like this. It reminds me strongly of the few bourbons I've tried and maybe I'm starting to like them and that helps. I suspect 3 months ago I wouldn't have liked this at all. So perseverance is key, as Willie keeps saying, correctly

[Mark C]

Colour: Deep amber.

Nose: A powdery sort of sweetness with a little cinnamon. Old fruit. Some woodiness - an old dusty drawer that's not been opened for years. Sandalwood. Something perfumey on a second nosing. Light hint of Parma Violets.

Mouth: Immediate sherbety fruitness smacks the tongue and gums. A little spiciness and then loads of fruit juices spill around the edges of the mouth. Lovely.

Finish: Juicy yet dry. A strange one. The juices disappear leaving a long, dusty, sweet dryness. A little of the grain spiritiness here which is the first time I've really found this to be like any other grain I've tried.

Comments: Well, obviously a sherry cask given the colour and the fruity, juiciness. Clearly a good thing to put grains in sherry casks for a long time. This is delicious. I could easily drink this instead of a malt any time.

[TheTross]

Nose: Creamy toffee fudge. Hints of gunpowder. Liquorice and hints of leather. Vimto. Blueberries? Certainly some dark fruit. Chocolate limes. Cinnamon. Ginger ale? Something floral/perfume-like. Very difficult to tell that this is a grain, although it is a little light and sugary underneath the sherry influence.

Palate: Toffee fudge, liquorice, dark fruit, Vimto and hints of gunpowder again. Hints of Christmas cake.

Finish: Vimto. Quite sugary, with a little menthol coming through after a few seconds.


This whisky is simply outstanding. The sherry cask has played a huge role here, but it's not at all winy or tannic. I could happily spend all day over the nose in particular.