I attended last week an online Daftmill tasting, and these tastings always have a very particular kind of charm: the drams always say a lot about the distillery, the farm, and the careful seasonal rhythm behind the spirit. This tasting was no exception, moving from the clean, bright side of Daftmill’s summer distillates to the richer, more textured winter expressions, with a few cask twists along the way that showed just how much character Francis Cuthbert can coax out of such a restrained setup.
What made the lineup especially interesting was the way each whisky seemed to reflect a different choice point in the Daftmill style: barley variety, cask type, fermentation length, and whether the spirit came from the summer or winter season. Put together, the drams didn’t just taste like a flight of whiskies; they felt like a snapshot of how a farm distillery builds identity one careful bottling at a time.
The lineup was made of six drams, but the first one, a Daftmill 2010 Winter Batch Release, has already been reviewed on More Drams, so it won’t be reviewed again. However, the five other expressions were yet to be reviewed here (and I hadn’t had the chance to taste them before), so you can read my thoughts below.
Daftmill 2011 Summer Batch Release (2023) Review
We skip directly to the second dram of the evening, with the Daftmill 2011 Summer Batch Release, bottled in 2023. This whisky used Publican barley, which was grown at Daftmill’s farm for just two years, and harvested on-site in 2009. It was intended as an Optic replacement but never caught on commercially, even though Francis loved the spirit it produced. This was distilled in the Summer 2011 season, and filled into 27 first-fill Ex-Bourbon barrels, specifically sourced from Clermont Springs (Jim Beam), in June, July and August 2011. It yielded 6,550 bottles reduced to 46% ABV in September 2023, without chill filtration nor added colour. This release is still available in the UK (from £105) and Europe (from €119).
Colour:
Pale straw.
Nose:
Neat: Fresh and lively, opening on pears, green apples and lemon zest, with vanilla cream, malted biscuits and a gentle floral edge. There’s also a soft yoghurty creaminess and a faint grassy, hay-like note that gives it a farmyard charm without ever turning rough.
With water: The fruit becomes a little rounder and the floral side opens up more. Honey, vanilla yogurt and soft citrus become more obvious, while the grassy notes stay in the background.
Palate:
Neat: Medium-bodied with a smooth, oily texture and lots of bright fruit. Pear, peach, green banana and citrus sit alongside vanilla, white pepper and a touch of ginger, while the bourbon cask adds a clean sweetness rather than heavy oak.
With water: The palate turns creamier and slightly sweeter, with orchard fruit, malt and vanilla moving to the front. The pepper and ginger ease off, making the whisky feel even more approachable.
Finish:
Medium in length, fading on soft spice, lemon peel, malt sweetness and a little grassy freshness. It closes cleanly, with a pleasant balance of fruit and gentle oak.
Comments:
Nice and oily, fruity and creamy and not too woody, Daftmill does work well with bourbon casks, as we already said it in the previous review of four batch releases.
Rating: 7/10
Daftmill 2012 Winter Batch Release (2026) Review
This winter release blends seven first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and five first-fill sherry hogsheads (Oloroso/PX), distilled in the winter season of 2012 from Concerto barley, matured on top dunnage level and bottled at 46% ABV (non-chill filtered and natural colour as usual). This was only the second time Daftmill mixed bourbon and sherry in a seasonal release (the first was in 2009 and Francis didn’t like it). This 2012 batch exceeded his expectations and was his current favourite at the time of the tasting.
Colour:
Amber.
Nose:
Neat: Bright orchard fruits like ripe pear, yellow apple and lemon oil shine through, backed by vanilla fudge, soft honey and bourbon wood sweetness. Sherry brings rich Christmas cake, dried fruits, barley sugar, shortbread, walnuts, praline and burnt orange peel.
With water: Orchard fruits brighten further, with cleaner honey, vanilla and subtle floral lift; sherry richness integrates smoothly.
Palate:
Neat: Round, mouth-coating texture with peach Melba, nectarines, apricots, poached pear syrup, clotted cream toffee, soft brown sugar and toasted oats. Waxiness from sherry casks adds body, with light bourbon freshness, vanilla, sultanas, dates, caramel and spicy oak.
With water: Even creamier, emphasising fruit layers, malt sweetness and gentle spice while sherry depth softens for better balance.
Finish:
The finish lingers on sweet pastry, soft spice, cereal character and slight minerality with tablet sweetness.
Comments:
An excellent vatting of bourbon and sherry casks, that works really well. Both types of casks are well integrated and intertwined. This is really very good, and I’ve been tempted to order a bottle. I decided to wait for the end of the tasting before making a decision, and you’ll see what happened later!
Rating: 7.5/10
Daftmill 2012 Single Cask For The Netherlands (2026) Review
Next, we moved to cask strength Daftmill whiskies, and the first out of the three cask strength ones was this single cask bottled for The Netherlands and Craft Spirits, their importer for The Netherlands. This single malt was distilled on the 4th of July 2012 and bottled in February 2026, after 13 years of maturation in first-fill bourbon barrel 002/2012. The cask yielded 212 bottles filled at 57.3% ABV, without chill filtration nor added colour. There are a few bottles left in the Netherlands, around €180, even though the retail price was probably a bit under that amount.
Colour:
Pale gold.
Nose:
Neat: Bright and engaging with ripe orchard fruits like pear, golden apple and peach, layered with vanilla cream, honeyed malt and fresh-cut grass. Subtle floral notes, lemon zest and light coconut or tropical hints add lift and complexity.
With water: Orchard fruits brighten, revealing more honey, vanilla and subtle tropical notes; grassiness softens elegantly.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is waxy, with green-yellow fruits, poached pear, citrus oil and barley sugar sweetness. Vanilla fudge, soft spice, ginger and gentle oak provide structure without overpowering the clean spirit’s character.
With water: Creamier and more integrated, emphasising fruit, malt sweetness and reduced spice for easy sipping.
Finish:
Medium, clean and refreshing with lingering pear, lemon peel, malt and faint grassy freshness.
Comments:
This is a stunning, rich and deep Bourbon-matured Daftmill. This single cask impresses by the range of flavours, the weight of the palate and its waxy mouthfeel. This was my favourite of the tasting, and most of the other people attending that tasting ranked it on top as well. I wanted to ban myself from buying until the end of May because I had already spent too much… and I immediately broke the ban and ordered a bottle.
Rating: 8.5/10
Daftmill 2009 15-Year-Old Fife Strength (2024) Review
This 15-year-old Daftmill is a single malt made from Optic barley and bottled at “Fife Strength” (56.3% ABV) after maturation in 19 first-fill bourbon casks and one PX sherry cask. This was bottled in 2024, and this is the third batch of Daftmill’s 15-year-old (the previous ones were made from 2006 and 2007 distillates). This third batch had a yield of 3,840 bottles. This is still easily available in the UK (about £170 a bottle) and in Europe (between €180 and €230 depending on countries).
Colour:
Amber.
Nose:
Neat: Fresh orchard fruit leads, especially pear, apple skin and a touch of citrus oil, with vanilla custard and buttery shortbread behind it. There’s also a gentle sweet cake note, a little barley sugar, and a soft sherry accent that adds dried fruit without taking over.
With water: The spirit opens up and becomes more recognisably Daftmill: lighter floral tones, orchard fruit and cleaner citrus rise to the surface. The buttery, biscuity notes recede a little, making the profile feel fresher and more balanced.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is full and dessert-like, bringing vanilla sponge, custard, pastry and a syrupy fruit quality. Pear drops, lemon and lime, green apple and a light raisin note sit alongside malt sweetness, toasted biscuits, a little grassiness and a mild alcohol warmth.
With water: Dilution softens the alcohol and brings out apple jelly, grapefruit peel, cinnamon and a more obvious pastry sweetness. The whisky feels a bit less forceful and a bit more integrated, with the fruit and malt working together more naturally.
Finish:
Medium long and smooth, with vanilla, lemon balm, soft oak spice and lingering fruit. The sherry influence shows up late as a mild dark-fruit echo rather than a heavy wave.
Comments:
Yet another superb Daftmill. This vatting of one ex-PX cask with several bourbon ones, combined with the few additional years of maturation and the higher strength make for another delicious Daftmill. Would it have been available at Whiskybase at the time of the tasting, I might have bought it as well.
Rating: 8/10
Daftmill 2009 Single Cask UK Exclusive (2022) Review
The last dram was a UK-exclusive single cask distilled in 2009 and bottled in 2022 from a first-fill sherry butt 026/2009, with a yield of 630 bottles at 60.2% ABV. This release seems sold out.
Colour:
Russet.
Nose:
Neat: Deep and concentrated, opening on prune compote, figs in syrup and dark sticky fruit. Beneath that sit earthy notes, game meat, rancio and a leathery, old-school sherry character that makes it feel weighty rather than sweet.
With water: Water pushes the profile further into leather, dark fruit and gamey depth, making the nose thicker and more expressive.
Palate:
Neat: Rich and savoury, with dark fruit, fruit gravy, salted liquorice and a meaty edge. The palate leans more toward old Oloroso style than polished dessert sherry, with toasted walnut, salted almond and a little wood spice adding structure.
With water: With dilution, the whisky turns a bit sharper and saltier, bringing out wood spice, salted almonds, liquorice and toasted walnuts.
Finish:
Long, salty and earthy, with walnut, liquorice, dried fruit and lingering sherry depth. The finish stays hearty and dry rather than fruity and bright.
Comments:
Even though I’m less found of pure sherry matured Daftmill, I must admit this one really is very good. The sherry influence is quite present, making this Daftmill really rich and savoury, with a thick and chewy mouthfeel. Had the price been a bit lower (there were a few bottles available on Whiskybase at €220 each during the tasting), I might have been tempted, but the price felt €60 too high for me to pull the trigger on it. In any case, a really nice single cask.