Fragrant Drops Single Casks | 58.2% / 45.8% ABV

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Bold. Fruity. Meandering. Fantastic. Keeps you on your toes.*

Surprising. Confounding.

Many of you will know by now that I tend to favour the younger whiskies over the long-aged. The vibrancy. The robustness of flavour. The proximity to the source distillate. I stand and gape in awe at the firework of it all - bright, visceral, impactful, sparkly, loud.

There are many reasons why youthful whisky - by which I mean less than ten years of maturation - falls directly into my wheelhouse. I suppose it’s been a response to what has been available to me in my budget range, especially so given I arrived in whisky just as the boom times took off.

With exception to the likes of Arran, Tobermory, Glencadam et al, the whiskies that were high double-digits were inflated out of my budgetary reach. It happened quickly too - I bought two Arran 18s in 2021 for £80 each, but within the year they had jumped to £95 and, looking now, l see those same bottles commanding £120 plus in 2025. Is Arran 18 giving triple the experience of their 10 year old whisky?

It’s why I love whiskies like Kingsbarns, Glasgow and Ardnamurchan so much - their whisky was, is and remains at a price commensurate with the field of play. They’ve not gone for premium markets, or tried to coax their brand into the upper echelons of the luxury whisky customer; instead, putting out consistently high-quality malts for really good prices.

In an effort to expand my horizons and try to get more bang for buck, I started looking at grain whisky and in 2023 found, through The Grail ladies and their recommendation at Glasgow Whisky Festival, a stoater of a North British 29yo bottled by Fragrant Drops. It won my heart and was my whisky of the festival.

Last year the EIS team went straight for the Fragrant Drops table at the festival and, again, North British was in fine fettle. The 34yo was similar to the honey bee of the 29yo and for £95 is just decadence in a bottle. However, it was the second North British on the table that caught our collective eyes. At 15 years, fully matured in a red wine barrique, I would have expected it to be a bright, acetone-forward zinger, but it wasn’t. What magic was afoot?

Review 1 of 2

15yo full-mat in red wine barrique (Ck.428611) 58.2%
£70 - still available online

Age is no guarantee of quality, I suppose. That said, in the Single Malt world, older malts are widely regarded as being the more worthy choice, if you can afford them. The time in cask lending those fiery youthful spirits time to calm down, settle, and level out.

In the Single Grain world the youth of it all doesn’t seem to translate as well: the Table Whisky from Port of Leith, featuring very young North British whisky, resolved like a big magic carpet of contact glue. Grain whiskies demand lengthy spells in cask if we are to take them unadulterated or unblended; for grain whiskies are typically destined for blends. To single them out as standalone single cask whiskies to analyse means that the older stuff, 25 years and onwards, is usually where the illumination begins.

There’s a lot going for grain whisky. The price is a big draw, easily finding big digits of maturation for remarkably reasonable prices, compared to single malts. The 34yo North British at £95 would see upwards of four times the price for single malts of a similar age. For folk who have to watch their pennies, having access to well-aged whisky under £100 is really attractive. It’s still a liquid time machine to 34 years in the past, and often flavour experiences that aren’t typical of single malts.

Which is why North British, at 15 years of maturation presented in a single cask release, with this sort of reaction, was so interesting. I’ve tried other grain whiskies at 10-18 years of maturation and there has always been that overwhelming smack of glue or acetone or peppery spice. It’s hit and miss. Granted I’ve not extensively explored the world of grain whisky yet, but what I have tried has given me a bearing that points towards the older stuff.

I’ve hummed and hawed thinking about this; not just for the 15yo North British, but the 34yo North British counterpart too, both of which the EIS split. I tanned the 15yo 230ml in a few hedonistic days over the festive break, but the 34yo was sipped tentatively. After seeing the 15 off, I really felt like I didn’t give it enough thought. Over Christmas I saw a lot of heels off and I suppose I was in that headspace when the 15 entered and exited my body.

I wondered if any was still around, which thankfully it was, and a new bottle made its way to the Misty Isle so that I could fully appreciate it. Again, I’m going through it pronto. It’s very moreish. There’s something about the presentation that is simultaneously interesting but also gobble-worthy.

Before I lose the chance again, I’ll get my thoughts down and see what it means, versus the remaining 34yo in the dwindling split bottle. Either way my enjoyment so far has been high.

Nose

Cedarwood. Sweaty squash court. Wet sand. Oven chips. Espresso. Garam masala. Wendy house. Hot brick. Vegetal something - celery? Swimming pool. Coriander.

Palate

Fudge. Butter toffee. Sweetcorn. Cherry. Menthol. Creamy spice/chilli heat. Graphite. Red cedarwood. Jolly ranchers - hard red transparent candy. Bit of warming spice.

Review 2 of 2

34yo refill bourb (Ck.O180-44) 45.8%
£95 - still available online

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*The elder of swings and roundabouts. Age is bringing a mellowness.*

Nose:

Softer. Toasted oak. Buttery oak. Metallic - steel. Vegetal banana leaf. Mineral. Fried potato. Pepper. Sage? Curry leaf. Tiramasu. Cocoa. Cream brandy sponge. Chips. Garam masala. Olives. Bit of canned peach.

Palate:

Permanent marker. Soft toffee. More relaxed. Jet fuel! Burnt Christmas cake. Toasted wholemeal with marmalade. Orange blossom/peel. Oranges are becoming more present.

The Dregs:

What’s interesting is the direct link between the two drams: the North British character identifiable in both. Where the 15yo shouts and swaggers, the 34yo sits back and watches. It's a slow release of age versus a shotgun of youth. The 34yo has a lot more wood notes which feels more circumspect than the 15yo and is obvious as to why. Do I like that better? Yes and no.

I prefer the brutal impact of the younger expression and the myriad of weird and red notes that blast at my facehole every time I sip it. Bold, fruity, cherry, fresh mint, spice, plastic, exotic spices as well as the sweet notes of the grain, the warming spice, the acetone, the permanent marker of it all. It’s quite the experience.

The 34yo feels slow living by comparison; felt slippers. It gives up some of its secrets but only after a lengthy chat and wading through some risqué opinions. The ABV will play a big part here: 45.7% for the elder versus 58.2% for the upstart, but even then the 15yo doesn’t exactly melt the face. I swing back and forth between loving the punch of the 15yo and being nonplussed with the 34yo; only to then wait a while and sip the oldie and think, yeah, that’s amazing.

Fragrant Drops are championing the unique. The oddballs. The wee funny things that get chins wobbling and once again I’m excited by their bottlings. That’s not to say every bottle they release is blasted out of the park, because a few that I’ve tried at festivals are simply not inside my angle of approach. Regardless, they’re seeking and finding these unique takes on spirits that I’m not seeking in other bottlers.

A lot has been said recently about the independent bottler space and the limitations to which they are “allowed” to operate. Access to cask inventory at prices that are sustainable, in other words. As the whisky industry folds in on itself with each passing day, the prospect of that inventory opening up for exploration gets more real. The straws are appearing, ready to get clutched.

This presents opportunities for independent bottlers to start delving into the greater expanse of maturing whisky, but with the poisoned chalice of that access coming at the time when the market is unwilling to buy any whisky. It’s a sore one. Unless we keep buying whisky from these indies, instead of the supers, those releases will fall on closed wallets and soon we’ll see the small indies hoisting white flags.

The public is not spending money on anything superfluous at the moment. The worry boat is wobbling at an ever-increasing amplitude, as world leaders make more aggressive waves.

With the tax on whisky going up to 70% the landscape is bleak. Most of all for the wee folk. At a time when I’m not looking for whisky to buy, because I too am in that bracket of folk not spending right now, my suffocated purchasing scope is focusing on interesting bottlings that appear from indies. Things that will tickle my motor along until things start to settle down a bit and I can get back to reaching wider and deeper across whisky again.

*Credit:* *https://scotch-whisky.org.uk/*

This 15yo North British is squarely in that zone of interest though and for £70 is a very fair price for the experience. The 34yo - £95. Despite my flip-flopping, it’s great whisky too and I think probably worth the stretch upwards if it’s totally in your wheelhouse. I prefer the 15yo and feel the vibrancy of it just suits me to a tee. I love that Fragrant Drops are putting out interesting whisky like this. Long may their signal broadcast far and wide and long may we keep the electricity flowing to their transmitter.

Score: 7/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DC

Dramface is free.
Its fierce independence and community-focused content is funded by that same community. We don’t do ads, sponsorships or paid-for content. If you like what we do you can support us by becoming a Dramface member for the price of a magazine.
However, if you’ve found a particular article valuable, you also have the option to make a direct donation to the writer, here: buy me a dram - you’d make their day. Thank you.
For more on Dramface and our funding read our about page here.