As Scotland’s oldest independent bottler, Cadenhead’s have long been known for releasing stunning whiskies but none more so than those from their famous ‘dumpy’ series, which features some incredible 1950s and 60s vintages. Whisky from this bygone era of production have become increasingly elusive in recent years, making them exceptionally desirable.

This Macduff was distilled in December 1964 and bottled in July 1977.

Colour: straw. Nose: very ‘Cadenhead dumpy’ with these sooty and metallic OBE touches but it’s also classical old style, distillate driven malt whisky which I can’t fail to love. Lots of grass, olive oil, mineral touches, old tool boxes, hessian, old ink wells, chimney grime and a touch of cereal sweetness still peeping through after all these years. There’s this sense of fatness and a deeper base character that you often miss in modern whiskies. Mouth: very cereal on arrival. Lots of porridge, grass, buttered toast, unsweetened flapjack, oatmeal and things like straw and bailed hay. Cornflour, green tea and a hint of lemon peel. Also still this metal polish, sooty and old oily rag character that seems to have taken up residence in just about every old Cadenhead dumpy bottling these days. Finish: a tad short and still on cereals, light waxes, mineral oils and hessian. Comments: A lovely and very textbook ‘old style malt whisky’. Also a pretty emblematic old Cadenhead dumpy that seems to embody many of the characteristics of this great series. Perhaps overall a tad simple but extremely quaffable and charming.

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