Whisky: Dornoch 5 Year (2017) Cask 32

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 56.7%

Cask: First Fill Bourbon Octave

Age: 5 Years (Distilled 4 Oct. 2017, Bottled Feb. 2023)

Nose: Tropical fruits and refined sugar with malty cereal notes and a kiss of orangey citrus; herbal with waxy crayons and bruised stone fruits.

Palate: Medium-bodied, overripe stone fruits, waxy crayons, mellow plasticine, apples and dehydrated orchard fruits, pepper, wood, plastic wrap, new car.

Finish: Medium-length with tingling spirit, dried herbs, and Fruit Stripe gum.

Score: 5 (75)

Mental Image: New Car Road Trip

Narrative & Notes: The aroma of tropical Fruit Stripe gum and Honey Nut Cheerios fueled flashbacks of road trips as a child with sweet artificial fruits, tangerine, orange and then the malty-honeyed sweetness of breakfast cereal. Waxy on the nose, like crayons more than candles, with herbal marjoram and spices alongside jammy berries and bruised plums.  Medium-bodied and slightly syrupy with overripe plums and nectarines arriving ahead of waxy crayons and mellow plastics.  Apples and dehydrated fruits lingered with a touch of spirited pepper, wood, and plastic wrap alongside a new car and faux leather. The finish was medium-length with tingling spirit, dried herbs, and Fruit Stripe gum.

Another new distillery for me! Dornoch, owned and operated by the Thompson Brothers, is by some measure the smallest distillery in Scotland. According to the 2024 Malt Whisky Yearbook it is tied with Moffat for those honors, producing only 12,000 liters of alcohol each year.

For comparison, production at Daftmill, the highly sought after Lowland malt, is more than five times greater. Or, consider that Dornach produces one half of one percent of the whisky that Glenfiddich does.  That status will not last forever as a massive expansion is in the works with an entirely new distillery to be built just 100 meters from the present.  Massive is a relative term though and the new distillery would still be one of the smallest in Scotland, but closer to the capacity of Lochlea and Raasay.

This was a bit of a weird one and it reminded me quite a bit of Iceland’s Flóki, especially some of the plasticine or cling film notes.  I heard this could be a bit divisive and I can see why.  I enjoyed elements of it, those crayons notes for instance were unique, but I cannot see myself reaching to pour this very often.

Overall, a curiosity fit for sharing.