Daftmill 11yo 2008/2019 Summer Batch Release (46%, OB, Bourbon Casks, C#056+058+060+062+065+066, 1760b): nose: oatmeal and warm porridge, caramel flan and butterscotch. The sweetness dissipates, making room for dry cereal, hot straw bales and hay. That newfound dryness veers towards dusty cardboard, which is not half surprising, considering it was caramel-y only minutes ago... And, actually, the caramel comes back too! Along with it are marinated apricot slices (subdued, mind) and, ultimately, chocolate. The second nose adds a dusting of vanilla sugar on all of the above, and a spoonful of ground almonds. Mouth: mellow and sweet to start with, it soon blends the cardboardy caramel from the nose with the initial silk. Butterscotch joins the dance too, making this a little heady. The second sip brings in fudge, Scottish tablet, and so much butterscotch it feels borderline nutty (Brazil nuts). Finish: butterscotch and caramel in the finish again, as well as warm porridge and a twist of the peppermill. Puzzlingly, it combines an overly-sweet side with a softly bitter and drying one, which, I suppose, could make one think of white-chocolate liqueur praline, to an extent, unless it is latte (lait russe) or hazelnut milk. In any case, it feels very different to the first time I had it. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, DC)
Daftmill 11yo 2008/2019 (55.5%, OB for the Whisky Bars of Scotland, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, C#068/2008, 160b): nose: maybe a bit darker, with pot ale and toasted oats, or black sesame seeds. A minute in, chocolate-y tones appear, and we have Rolo and Toffifee. A little later, crumbly mortar appears, dry stone walls, and a polyester watering can, baked by the sun. And then, it comes back to a profile similar to that of its predecessor: dusty cardboard, hay and straw bales. The second nose has cut quince and Korean pear, fruity and a little floury, sprinkled with confectionary sugar. Mouth: a fruity and acidic entrance, with crystallised pineapple and orange boiled sweets, quickly joined by gently-bitter mixed peel, grapefruit skins and candied angelica. The second sip reiterates, with a sprinkle of ground white pepper and ginger powder to boot. The pepper, especially, is coming through retro-nasal olfaction, cloaking all the other flavours, after a while. They are still all there, simply pacified by the (relatively-gentle) pepper. Finish: a citrus-y number in the finish as well, it is now augmented with cereal dust (the kind that remains at the bottom of a breakfast-cereal bag), and a spoonful of honey on porridge. Repeated sipping seems to make this fruitier, interestingly enough, and ripe peaches join the pineapple and citrus. Citrus, which, by the way, is sweeter, now; calamansi or yuzu, rather than the earlier grapefruit. Pepper grows in intensity, over time, yet it never feels as coating as it did on the palate. I like this one better than the first time I tried it. In fact, I like it better than the other. 8/10
I still cannot understand the hype around Daftmill. It is good; I do not question that. But good enough to guarantee every release sells out before it is actually released? Ich don't think so.
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