DAFTMILL - HISTORY
The buildings of Daftmill Farmhouse date back to 1655 - so they are older than any other Scotch whisky distillery.
However, the buildings were used exclusively for farming until 2003, when Francis Cuthbert received the planning
permission required to develop a distillery at the old farm. The installation of the equipment took two years.
The very first Daftmill spirit flowed from the stills
on December 16, 2005 - so many malt whisky fans
were hoping to see the release of an official bottling
by the end of 2008 when the spirit had matured.
However, when I asked Francis Cuthbert about it
in the summer of 2008 he replied; “Progress has
probably been slower than I would have liked. We
certainly have not been running as much as I would
have hoped to. But the fact we have to earn a living
reduces the time available for distilling but the less
we produce the more exclusive our product will be.”
Witty and true - Daftmill is still primarily a farm, so
there is always lots of other farm work that needs
to be done and which often cannot be postponed.
Frances also expanded on the wood management at Daftmill: “Most of our casks are fresh bourbon barrels
from Heaven Hill distillery but due to a shortage of casks the last batch was from Jack Daniels instead. We have
also filled a few fresh sherry butts. We had originally planned to use a proportion of refill casks but sourcing
really good quality refill casks has been difficult as most distillers want to retain their best wood.”
At the start of 2018, bottles of the Daftmill malt whisky still were not available, but at least a global distribution deal
was announced with Berry Brothers from London. According to Berry’s Reserve Spirits Manager Doug McIvor:
“What I find so appealing about Daftmill is their unique and traditional seasonal production cycle which is led
by Francis’ quiet periods on the farm. I also believe their sole use of the estate’s barley gives Daftmill’s whisky
a real sense of terroir and true provenance.”
More information will be added once I’ve had the chance to actually sample the product from Daftmill distillery.
The Daftmill distillery is located in Fife
and the owner feels it’s a Lowland whisky.
However, a case could also be made for
putting Daftmill in the Eastern Highlands.
Its closest neighbours are Glenturret
and Tullibardine in the west.
DAFTMILL - LOCATION
When Daftmill started production in
2005, the only fully active distilleries in
the Lowlands were Auchentoshan and
Glenkinchie - the production capacity
at Bladnoch was already being reduced.
The Lowlands is a whisky region with
only a handful of surviving distilleries, so
I’m sure they’re happy to have Daftmill...
DAFTMILL - TRIVIA
1) Daftmill distillery started production in December 2005,
in the very same year they received their license to distil.
2) The building that houses Daftmill’s stills used to be
a meal mill in the past.
6) Daftmill uses unpeated malt for its whisky.
4) The stills at Daftmill are much smaller than those at
most other Scotch malt whisky distilleries. The wash still
can hold 2,500 litres while the contents of the spirit still
are 1,500 litres.
3) Even though Daftmill doesn’t present itself as a
so-called ‘craft distillery’ it is probably the craftiest
distillery in Scotland with a capacity of 20,000 litres of
malt whisky and an ‘organic’ production regime.
That’s it for now as far as Daftmill is concerned.
Once I’ve finished refurbishing the other distillery profiles I will add more information.
DAFTMILL - IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
In the decades before, other Lowland
distilleries like Inverleven, Linlithgow,
Littlemill and Rosebank had all been
closed down. Meanwhile, the other
new Lowland distilleries Ailsa Bay and
Annandale had not been opened yet.
2012 - In recenrket.
In thame.
2015 - Based on ba15.
2005 - Thathur.
ABERLOUR - SOME SAMPLED SIPLINGS
ber' and #20.
gh mouth feel.
he finish.
pect at its price level.
ABERLOUR - EXTRA INFORMATION
My own tasting notes for some expressions of Aberlour malt whisky are collected on this distillery profile.
Those were not all (official & independent) bottlings of Aberlour I've tried over the years, but the notes should
convey how I felt about those whiskies. However, these tasting notes only reflect my purely personal opinion.
Your tastes might be different from mine - so it would be prudent to check out some other opinions as well.
Serge Valentin’s Whiskyfun website offers tasting notes on thousands of whisky bottlings, including Aberlour.
The Malt Maniacs Monitor provides opinions of several other aficionados on over 15,000 different whiskies.
But perhaps you'd like to read a little bit more about whisky in general or single malt Scotch whisky in particular?
In that case, you might want to check out the Beginner's Guide to Scotch whisky - 10 chapters filled with (almost)
everything you need to know in order to fully enjoy and appreciate a glass of single malt whisky. Or, if you’d like
to dig a little deeper, the Whisky Lexicon offers more detailed information on a bunch of whisky-related topics.
DAFTMILL WHISKY DISTILLERY PROFILE
