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A Lost Grain Distillery

Throughout the next few reviews, I’m going to focus on some recent releases from one of my favourite independent bottlers. Watt Whisky is a family business, based in Campbeltown. Husband and wife, Mark & Kate Watt, established the company in 2019 and have released an impressive selection of whiskies and rums over the last few years. The latest batch of samples to drop through my door included another diverse array of drams but the first one I’ll be covering comes from the lost Dumbarton grain distillery.

The Dumbarton Distillery was built in the 1930s, on the North bank of the River Clyde. Canadian distiller, Hiram Walker, had already acquired Glenburgie and Miltonduff malt distilleries but lacked a reliable source of grain whisky. In a market dominated by blended Scotch, companies lived or died on their ability to secure ingredients for their blends. So when Hiram Walker struggled to get the grain they needed, they took the drastic step of building a plant of their own.

The stainless steel stills of Dumbarton began producing spirit in 1938. The distillery’s break from traditional copper allowed the plant to make grain neutral spirit (GNS) along with its traditional grain whisky. This neutral alcohol was used, among other things, as a key component in the production of gin and the ability to make and sell it was of great benefit. By a quirk in the setup, however, the distillery was only able to distil using maize, an unusual trait that gave the whisky a unique flavour that differed in character and weight from other grain spirits.

For a time, the distillery also housed a malt whisky plant within the same complex. Known as Inverleven, it was updated in the 1950s with the addition of a set of Lomond stills. Invented by Alastair Cunningham and Arthur Warren, these were shaped like a traditional pot at the base with a column instead of a swan neck. Inverleven produced whisky until the early 1990s before falling silent and when the complex was eventually demolished, equipment was sold off on a first-come, first-served basis. One of the stills now sits proudly in the Bruichladdich still-house in Islay. Better known as Ugly Betty, it makes The Botanist, using GNS not unlike that once produced in its former sister distillery.

Hiram Walker was taken over by Allied Distillers in 1988. Dumbarton remained in production until the early days of the new millennium finally brought about its end. The whisky world was changing and interest in malts was booming. New distilleries were opening for the first time in a generation and perhaps the need for grain whisky was on the decline. Whatever the reason, Dumbarton was surplus to requirements and the site was mothballed and later, demolished.

*Full disclosure: the sample featured in this review was sent to me free of charge. As always, I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.

The Whisky

This Watt Whisky Dumbarton was distilled in 2000, a short time before the distillery’s closure. It has been aged for 22 years in a single hogshead before being bottled at a natural cask strength of 55.5% abv.

Smell: Custard cream biscuits. Straw. Lemon creams. Lemon scent. Pineapple Danish pastries. The gentle oak notes are typical of an older grain. Crema Catalonia. Lemon curd on toasted crumpets. Grassy. A wee touch of citrus orange. Some light baking spices. Breakfast cereals.

Taste: Honeyed arrival with more cereals. Biscuit. Peppery spice. Quite oaky. Orange marmalade and lemon curd. Toast. Oatcakes. Buttered croissants. Water releases some fresh green fruits but doesn’t kill the spice completely – it just moves it further back on the tongue. Muesli.

Thoughts: Old grain can make for a very pleasant sip and is often priced reasonably given its age – at least when compared with similarly aged malts. My only issue with them is the tendency for them to be quite samey. You don’t see a great deal of diversity in the experience they deliver. This is a nice enough dram though. There’s a bit of heat to it but water polished the spiky edges and brought some more oak to the fore whilst also releasing some fresh fruits and generally improving it all round. Nothing surprising but a quality grain all the same.

Price: £87.95. Not one I’ll be rushing out to buy personally but if you don’t have an older grain in your collection at home, this is a pretty decent price for a dram of this age and quality.

For more about Watt Whisky visit here

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