Port Dundas 21yo 62.1% ABV (Fragrant Drops)

This Port Dundas 21yo is a lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky distilled at the Port Dundas distillery. The Cask, # 305291 was originally filled on the 10th of October 2000, and finally bottled on the 6th of October 2022. The ABV is 62.1%, and 187 were produced, and it comes in at around £96.

Appearance

Damp straw in colour, the swirl line beads up immediately, which drops quite thick legs. #thewhiskeychaps

Nose

Lol, it’s already the nicest nose I’ve had on a Port Dundas. It’s coming across nice and sweet atm, Sweet lemon jelly sweets, some red berries, cream soda, and lemonade ice lollies. There is a very faint minty aroma in there too. #thewhiskeychaps

A little foresty now, with some botanical aromas around the edges, taste when ready mate. #thewhiskeychaps

Confectionary is how I’d sum up this dram, quite honestly. #thewhiskeychaps

— Fragrant Drops (@fragrantdrops) March 12, 2023

Palate

The mouthfeel is quite oily, and it’s very spicy. The ABV comes across very high too. White pepper, lots of cinnamon and vanilla, really palate warming. Sweet and bitter lemon are both here, guava, and a vegetal feel slowly comes in. #thewhiskeychaps

Finish

The finish is quite long. I’m an advocate for grain whisky, but I think many have gone out too young. This is one of the best aged scotch grain I’ve come across, it is very nice. #thewhiskeychaps

We’ve tried a fair few and are rarely disappointed. Hugely underrated. #thewhiskeychaps

— Whisk(e)y Chap 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🥃 (@whiskeychap) March 12, 2023

My thoughts

On the night we tasted this whisky i revealed that i hadn’t tasted a great Port Dundas until that point. The reason for this is that the ones i had tasted were ex sherry cask matured or finished, and lots of sulphur had come from the sherry casks. A small amount of sulphur is ok, but any more than that ruins a dram for me.

As soon as i lifted this glass of Port Dundas to my nose, i knew it was by for the best i’d smelt. Obviously i also hoped that the palate would be just as good, and it was. For an aged grain whisky this is one of the ones you hope you get when you order one. It comes in at around £96, that’s very good for a 21 year old grain whisky these days, plus it’s single cask, non chill filtered and natural in colour and cask strength. It’s a winner all day every day for me, a fantastic surprise, that bought a huge smile to my face. Yes i’d love a bottle, and if all grain whiskies were this good, everyone would be singing their praises.

A big thank you goes out to Rachel Dixon from Fragrant drops, for joining us on the tasting this whisky was a part of, and for the use of her tweets in this review. Fragrant Drops website can be found here.