We're trying a ghost distillery today! Our first one actually. These have been shut down for some time but still have barrels kicking around that get bought out over time. Glendronach is a fan fave at S&P and was recently resurected, so we're hoping Port Dundas is low key delicious! Our first single grain as well.
Cooper's Choice Port Dundas 2009. 10 years old. 60.5% abv. Lowland Single Grain. Finished in Martinique rum barrels. $100 CAD.
We sniff around:
Kyle starts us off with apple. Granny Smith. Inside of a grocery plastic bag.
Scott goes for butterscotch ice cream. Fiji apples. Honey. Oh also Mac & Cheese with ketchup. Simon agrees, the one that comes frozen with the goopey cheese.
Simon gets a cardboard note and apple pie stuffing. Scott says he got that initially but his glass has been sitting half an hour and it's much better.
Trevor gets the ethanolly smell. Vodka ish. Fermented apple note.
Sean goes for caramel flavored varnish.
We cheers.
That's potent.
Kyle gets some cherry.
Simon says it tastes like vodka with some butterscotch added to it. The second sip is more palatable but still not a fan. It's got some molassy notes. Tastes more like a cheap brandy than a scotch.
Scott gets why this distillery went under... the rum comes through on the finish a bit. This tastes like a King's cup.
It's got some nice flavors to it but they get blown away by the ethanol and the mess.
Simon added some water, it's not as hot but still some cardboard notes.
Sean finds some bready notes. Lots of spice. Not very well balanced.
Reviews: Simon's pick. This is terrible. Barely palatable. Apologizes to the group for the bad gamble. This tastes like Bacardi gold at cask strength. 50. Scott doesn't think it's great, not really looking forward to finishing his sample. Too potent. Seems like the rum finish is more of a mascara. This is a let down. 52. Kyle's going 55. This is not very good. Every sip is painful. Trevor is at 55 too. He's saving his sample to offer when a nosy neighbor tries to dip into his stash. Sean wraps this up with a 49. Doesn't do anything well. Averages out to 52.2.
Overall: It took 193 reviews but Glenlivet 12 has finally been dethroned as our lowest rated bottle of all time. We really hate to take a jab at indie bottlers or distilleries but we're not sure why this got bottled as a single cask. Hopefully Cooper's Choice will get a shot at redemption soon but it's unlikely we'll ever gamble on another Port Dundas. At least not without a solid recommendation.
Cheers!
The S&P Crew.
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