Daftmill 2009 Summer Batch Release 2020

My first Daftmill! This whisky had simply never appeared on my radar before. The distillery was founded in 2003, the first spirit flowed from the pot stills in 2005, but it would take until 2018 before the first release was a fact. I taste their summer release 2020, a vatting of 4 barrels that were all in the warehouse for 10 or at best 11 years. There is no age indication on the label (strangely enough on the release for the American and Asian market it is, being 11 years).

Soft, fruity nose with sour notes like grapefruit, supplemented with quince, lime, blood orange and gooseberries. Vanilla not to be forgotten. A soft spiciness of the wood spreads quickly, as do a lot of herbal and especially floral notes. I'm in the meadow in full summer.

Good body. The spiciness now comes first – and relatively strong. A bit of pepper, some cloves and something herbal. Camphor? Then follows the fruit with apples, pears and quince in the lead, followed by a lot of vanilla and agrum notes. For 46%, this is quite a sturdy fellow, not to say that it is a bit alcoholic. On the other hand, it delivers more 'oomph' on the palate than the nose promised. This is very good.

The finish does not disappoint at all. Initially very sweet on vanilla and malt sugars and then evolves into a spicy, softly bitter and relatively dry finish.

This has been very good for me except for one thing: the price. For 200 EUR I can easily buy two bottles of a similar or even better quality. As far as I am concerned, if this would cost 80 EUR, then I would bring it back home.