Daftmill 2006 - Winter Batch Release 2018

Daftmill was founded in 2003 by Francis and Ian Cuthbert, who restored an old mill building on their family farm in Fife in the Lowlands. Daftmill obtained its licence to distil in late 2005, with the first casks being filled before the end of the year. The distillery is operated principally by Francis Cuthbert and uses long fermentations, small stills and slow distillation to produce a light, fruity spirit, 90% of which is aged in ex-bourbon casks with the remainder in sherry oak. 

The Cuthberts are grain and cattle farmers - much of their annual barley harvest is sold to Edrington - and Daftmill is operated only in the farm’s quiet seasons in the summer and winter. Consequently, Daftmill’s output is particularly low, with only around 100 casks filled each year. The first general release Daftmill appeared in 2018 to widespread acclaim, and Daftmill’s whisky has remained highly sought-after ever since.

Distillery bottlings are, as the name suggests, bottled by or for the distillery from which the whisky has originated and are thus often referred to as Official Bottlings or OBs. Distillery bottlings are generally more desirable for collectors and usually fetch higher prices at auction than independent bottlings. They are officially-endorsed versions of the whisky from a particular distillery and are therefore considered the truest expression of the distillery’s character.

This ideal of the distillery character is regarded so seriously by the distilleries and brand owners that casks of whisky that are considered to vary too far from the archetype are frequently sold on to whisky brokers and independent bottlers. When this happens, it is often with the proviso that the distillery’s name is not allowed to be used when the cask is bottled for fear of diminishing or damaging the distillery’s character and status.