Port Dundas
Translation: Port of (Sir Lawrence) Dundas
Region: Lowlands
Let's come to something completely different.
Hard-bitten malt whiskey supporters may not be as familiar with the name Port Dundas. This is less because the distillery was shut down in 2010. The reason is rather that Port Dundas did not produce malt whiskey.
What flowed here from the so-called Coffey Stills was Grain Whiskey. In contrast to the Malt, this is made from unmalted barley and in a completely different firing process. In general, this Grain whiskey tends to flower in secret. Faster and less expensive to produce than malt, but less heavy and complex, it is primarily used as part of blended whiskeys.
Single Grain Whiskey, bottled as such? Rather rare. An exotic. But one who - carefully and patiently stored - can bring great, unique taste sensations. With the closure of Port Dundas, there is now a chance less to get to know this. Too bad.
A little history
In 1811, Daniel McFarlane founded a Port Dundas distillery in the Glasgow district of the same name. Another distillery, also named Port Dundas, was built in 1813 by Brown, Gourlie & Co. Both distilleries initially produced malt whiskey.
In 1845, production was switched to grain whiskey in both distilleries. For this purpose, they installed the necessary Coffey stills, which differ significantly from the pot stills of Maltproduktion. The two Port Dundas distilleries merged in 1877 and became part of Distiller Company Ltd (DCL).
In 1903, a fire destroyed most of the buildings. The distillery had to be rebuilt. and only went back to operation in 1913. In 1916, after another fire, a major refurbishment became necessary.
During World War II production stopped. In the 70s, Port Dundas was extensively modernized and many buildings renewed.
In 2009, owner Diageo announced that it would close the distillery, which happened in 2010.
The Grain Whiskey by Port Dundas was (and still is) part of such successful blends as Johnnie Walker, White Horse, J & B, Bell's, Black & White, Haig's and Vat 69.
What do I actually have in the glass?
The Port Dundas Single Grain Whiskey is not available as a standardized original bottling of the distillery. The still available independent bottlings of individual barrels are mostly older and have intense notes of vanilla, caramel and butter biscuits. Overall, perhaps a little less powerful than a Malt, but with wonderful fine sweetness.
3 reasons to love Port Dundas
1) Because Port Dundas shows what Grain can do.
2) Because without Grain Whiskey there would be no blends and no blends no malt distillery.
3) Because the whiskey is a bit like Christmas.
The one drama for the lonely island
Douglas Laing's old Director's Cut cask fillings are true works of art that combine all the flavors of a Christmas bakery.
numbers and facts
Address: Glasgow City G4 9XF Harvey Street, Glasgow City
Founded: 1811 by Daniel McFarlane
Status: shut down
Owner: Diageo
Capacity: approx. 39,000,000 liters
3 Coffey Stills (also called Patent or Column Stills)
Water: Loch Katrine
Visitor Center: -
Telephone: -
Website: -
