Side by side : 5 Independent Grains

Good Scottish Single Grains tend to be on the older side - twenty something and you've got something rather nice, the other side of thirty and you're usually in for something special!

For this side by side I've selected 5 single grains from 4 different independent bottlers, ranging in age from 10yo to 39yo, lets see how they compare.

Although there's now more than 120 malt distilleries in Scotland there are only 7 working grain distilleries. There were more but industry rationalisation, mainly in the latter part of the last century, saw numbers half.

Map: insidethecask.com

Open	Closed
Cameronbridge (1826) 110m litres Girvan (1963) 110m litres Invergordon (1961) 35m litres Loch Lomond (1993) 18m litres North British (1885) 72m litres Starlaw (2011) 25m litres Strathclyde (1927) 39m litres	Caledonian (1855-1988) Cambus (1836-1993) Carsebridge (1798-1983) Dumbarton (1938-2002) Garnheath (1965-1985) North Of Scotland (1957-1980) Port Dundas (1811-2010)

The remaining seven still have the capacity to produce over 400 million litres of alcohol a year, that's an awful lot of whisky! Obviously most of it goes into blends but some is lucky enough to be bottled and sold as single grain whisky.

Dram	North British 2007 (10yo) [Signatory Vintage]	Cambus 1991 (24yo) [Signatory Vintage]	Cameronbridge The Chairman's Choice 1991 (26yo) [Douglas Laing]	Cambus Batch 11 (28yo) [TBWC]	Cameronbridge Batch 7 (39yo) [TBWC]
Characteristics	43% ABV, NCF, Non-coloured	52.3% ABV, NCF, Non-coloured	54.5% ABV, NCF, Non-coloured	47% ABV, NCF, Non-coloured	44.6% ABV, NCF, Non-coloured
Distillery notes	This dram is cereal forward, with notes of bright barley and husk, alongside some flavours of citrus, spice, mint and succulent melon with a little clear honey.	Single cask refill sherry butt #55894	The warming, golden colour is reflective of the sweet and richly spiced nose with its sugar, hard candy and creme brulee. The palate delivers yet more sweetness plus golden syrup, demerara sugar, molasses and espresso. The finish brings barley sugar, more spices and hints of vanilla.	Nose: Thick slabs of toffee fudge, grounded cinnamon, Campino sweets and a lick of vanilla followed by browning apples, spiced rum and a just a touch of icing sugar. Palate: Orchard fruits, juicy sultanas, apricot yoghurt and hazelnut whip, with some spice and minerality in support. Notes of vanilla ice cream, lemon sherbets and milk chocolate develop underneath. Finish: Long, sweet and elegant.	Nose: Polished oak and dried fruit, with hints of stem ginger hiding deeper within. Palate: Apple turnover, raw cinnamon, salted caramel and continued oak richness. Finish: Plum pudding, dates, pistachio ice cream and Seville orange marmalade.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Very pale gold - almost white wine, swirls fall as slow thick legs.	Mid gold in the glass, swirls fall as slow thin legs.	Pale gold in the glass, swirls fall as slow thick legs.	Pale gold in the glass, swirls leave a thin line, eventually beading up and falling as slow thin legs.	Pale gold in the glass,  swirls fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	Vanilla, a little vanilla, then a big burst of vanilla. A little note of nail polish remover. A little time in the glass offers some coconut and  sweet pear drop notes.	Musty old book shop notes initially, there's a little vanilla in there but this is a little more complex. A little strawberry jam and some milk chocolate notes.	Smooth silky vanilla custard, a little brown sugar and some grape juice.	Another that's a little musty, plenty of vanilla and orchard fruit notes. There's a little drying icing sugar here too.	Again a little musty, gentle vanilla and popcorn hints but not as strong as the SV Cambus. This one is taking it's time revealing much. A little dried fruit and orange peel after a little time in the glass.
Palate	Smooth watery arrival, a little honey, oaky vanilla, orchard fruit and a hint of peppery spice. There's a little coconut here from the nose along with a little hint of citrus.	Again a smooth slightly watery arrival. Sweet honey and strawberries initially then the spice takes over - again peppery but with more of a bite. Some vanilla and coconut notes. There's a little smoke note here too. Nice!	Again smooth and watery from the glass, this one offers cored apples full of dried fruit and runny syrup. Tropical fruit notes - fried pineapple and coconut linger on the tongue. There's more peppery spice and again a little hint of smoke. Very drying as the liquid disappears with tropical fruit hints. Yummy!	Again smooth and slightly watery - this one opened with the peppery spice and orchard fruit - toffee apple? A little orange juice, coconut  and icing sugar covered dried pineapple. Yummy!	Another smooth slightly watery arrival but with a creamy edge, orange peel and runny honey initially then a little toffee apple and gentle pepper spice. Icing sugar dryness as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Short with notes of stewed pears and honey.	Lingering spice, strawberry jam with coconut and milk chocolate notes.	Long lingering spice balanced with tropical fruit and drying icing sugar notes.	Spicy with lingering tropical notes - coconut and dried pineapple.	Medium length stewed apples, orange peel, a little coconut and a gentle peppery spice note.
Overall	The North British was the youngest in the group and at 10 years just didn't really make the grade - just too plain - vanilla with a little coconut - little in the way of spice - disappointing really. At the other extreme the TBWC Cameronbridge, at 39yo, is a little bit of distilling history, I was expecting the cask to have taken over here but it was a balance - the vanilla and peppery oak spice vying with but not bettering the toffee apple, honey and icing sugar - good but not great. In the middle were the three 20 somethings and I think this is where grain is at it's best - long enough in the cask to tame the raw spirit but not too long that the cask takes over. The SV Cambus was sherry butt matured so had a little more to offer - musty bookshop or dunnage warehouse and strawberry jam notes. Its TBWC brother was a more 'normal' grain with coconut, vanilla and dried pineapple notes - yummy! Right in the middle of the age range was the 26yo Cameronbridge from Douglas Laing. Cameronbridge most famous for David Beckham's aftershave - let's not go there.... This dram just hits the perfect sweet spot of vanilla, coconut, dried pineapple, icing sugar and peppery spice that for me says yummy single grain whisky. One little proviso in here... if you're in a hot country your whisky will mature quicker, so take for example a South African single grain - 5 or 6 years is the sweet spot. I got smoke on a couple of these drams but it's unlikely they used peated grains, charred casks maybe or am I mistaking smoke for coffee notes? I don't drink coffee so it's a possibility? Happy to debate and take suggestions?

Many thanks to @WhiskynStuff, @BlackCountryWS and @DrinksByTheDram for the samples!