Daftmill 15yo Fife Strength - 2026 release

THE HOLY SPIRITS VIEW

Daftmill only distils during two short breaks in the farming year, and this 15 year old comes from the winter run of 2010 into 2011. Estate-grown Publican barley, seventeen first-fill bourbon barrels, bottled at Daftmill’s own “Fife Strength”. Unlike previous 15-year-old releases, there’s no sherry wood here, so the farm and the spirit lead. 3,294 bottles.

THE DISTILLERY

Daftmill is a family farm distillery in Fife, run by brothers Francis and Ian Cuthbert, who distil in the quiet gaps in the farming calendar, in mid-summer and winter. Licensed in 2005, it didn’t release its first whisky until 2018, a twelve year old of just 629 bottles. All the barley is grown on the farm.

THE WHISKY: DAFTMILL 15 YEAR OLD, 2026 RELEASE

Made from Publican barley grown in the farm’s 43-acre field, harvested on 28 and 29 August 2009, then dried and stored on the farm before being malted in Alloa in summer 2010. Distilled and filled between November 2010 and the end of January 2011, matured on the upper level of Warehouse 2 in seventeen first-fill ex-bourbon barrels. Bottled in June 2026 at 56.3% ABV, Daftmill’s “Fife Strength”. 3,294 bottles.

TASTING NOTES

Fresh lemon zest, lemon curd, vanilla cream, buttery pastry, a delicate grassy edge, soft caramel and sweet malt underneath. Rounder and more indulgent on the palate than you’d expect, caramels, soft vanillas, lively citrus lifting everything, the first-fill bourbon adding sweetness and texture without smothering Daftmill’s freshness. Finish long and balanced, citrus oils, gentle oak spice, a touch of vanilla sweetness. Poised, patient, beautifully fresh for fifteen years. Gorgeous.

Serve: Neat, in a Glencairn glass. Give it time, the citrus and pastry keep unfolding.