I love the concept of Daftmill. A small, independent farm distillery that produces little and focuses on outputting only quality bottles. As such, it’s not cheap and there are just a few, limited releases each year. This was the first with a stated age on the bottle (alongside the 2006/2022) and was only released to UK independent whisky shops. I picked one up locally and didn’t waste too much time before giving it a taste.
Daftmill 15yo Fife Strength – very classy looking bottle, in my opinion
I’d previously only ever tried one Daftmill, which was this 2006/2018 (fruity nose, good but not mindblowing taste and limes on the finish), so was keen to try something a bit older. At £170 for a bottle though, it’s not a distillery I’ll get to try a lot of…
Daftmill 15yo Fife Strength – Lovely, golden glow in the glass
Daftmill 2007/2023 15yo
Bourbon Barrel | 56.3%
Nose: Youthful, rose, lemon, perfume, biscuits!
Taste: Sauternes, big toffee, gentle fruit turning to mature apples. It’s extremely clean.
Finish: Sweet, tangy fruit. A little spicy? (not in a bad way)
Overall: So drinkable, like an old cider in whisky form. Lovely distillate.
Score: 8/10 – this one will stay with me.
Daftmill 15yo Fife Strength – 2007/2023 56.3%
Is it delicious? Yes.
Is it worth £170? Probably not – I guess that’s subjective, but at least it was memorable.
Update Dec 2023: Recently got to try this Daftmill 2010/2011, which was bottled for a fan group.
Nose: Spicy one
Taste: Rose and licorice, citrusy spice
Finish Very fruity, with a little fizz. With water, so tangy and very appley!
Overall Feisty ‘n’ fizzy, fruity and full of florals. It’s great – about as good an example of a spicier style I might not normally go for.
Score: 7.7/10 – not as memorable as the 15yo.
