Decadent Drinks’ August release has landed, and it is an unusually wide spread: six bottles running from a 41-year-old Ardmore down to a pair of sherried 19-year-olds. Two of them come under the Whiskyland banner, and those are the two we would put in front of you first: a 34-year-old Dufftown and, the headline of the whole drop, the first ever independent bottling of Daftmill.
Both are old, both are Whiskyland, and they pull in opposite directions in the glass, which is part of what makes them the pick of the release. One is still on the shelf. The other has already gone. We will start with the pair, then walk through the rest so you can see where they sit.
The focus: two old Whiskyland bottlings
Whiskyland is the flagship range from Decadent Drinks, the independent bottler run by whisky writer Angus MacRaild, the man behind the satirical WhiskySponge blog and a co-founder of Kythe Distillery. The company started in 2019 as the bottling arm of that blog and built its name on casks chosen for character, presented naturally, without chill-filtration or added colour. When WhiskySponge closed at 100 editions, Whiskyland took over, releasing numbered “chapters” wrapped in an ongoing comic mythology about the imaginary land the whisky supposedly comes from.
Two of those chapters carry this release.
Whiskyland Chapter Thirty-Seven Dufftown 34 years old is a single cask distilled in 1991 and matured for its whole life in a refill bourbon barrel, bottled at natural cask strength of 51.1%. Dufftown is a Speyside distillery in the town that bills itself as the whisky capital of Scotland, and as an owner’s bottling it mostly appears as The Singleton of Dufftown. A cask-strength single cask at this age is something you will only really find through an independent bottler, which is a large part of the appeal.
Whiskyland Chapter Thirty-Five Daftmill 20 years old is the one people will remember this release for. Daftmill is a cult Lowland farm distillery in Fife, run by the Cuthbert family, and until now every bottle it has ever released has been an official one. This is the first independent Daftmill ever, and the oldest Daftmill bottled to date. It is a small batch rather than a single cask, a marriage of a first-fill sherry butt and a first-fill bourbon barrel, distilled in 2006 and bottled with a little reduction at 53%. For a distillery this closely guarded, letting an outside bottler release a cask is a genuine mark of trust, and unsurprisingly it sold quickly on a one-bottle-per-customer limit.
So the two sit at opposite ends of the flavour map. The Dufftown is the fresh, honeyed, waxy old Speyside; the Daftmill is a dense, sherried Lowland full of dark fruit and tobacco. Between them they show the range Whiskyland covers.
Dufftown 34 vs Daftmill 20 at a glance
| Dufftown 34 (Ch. 37) | Daftmill 20 (Ch. 35) | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Speyside | Lowland |
| Distilled / Age | 1991 / 34 years | 2006 / 20 years |
| ABV | 51.1% (natural cask strength) | 53% (gently reduced) |
| Cask | Refill bourbon barrel (single cask) | 1st-fill sherry butt + 1st-fill bourbon barrel (small batch) |
| Profile | Fresh, honeyed, waxy, citrus and green fruit | Rich sherry, dark fruit, tobacco, chocolate, treacle |
| Availability | In stock, £485 | Sold out |
| Best for | Old-Speyside seekers who want elegance and lift | Collectors, and sherried old-malt lovers who caught it |
Decadent Drinks describes the Dufftown as fresher than its age suggests, opening into honey, citrus and green fruit, then an old-and-young palate of orchard and exotic fruit, flower nectar, runny honey and gentle cedar and sandalwood, closing on wax, dried flowers, lemon rind and a mineral, herbal-tea edge.
The Daftmill is the darker, richer of the two: a classical sherry nose of damp tobacco, cedar cigar box, plum wine, star anise and Dundee fruit cake turning honeyed, then a dense, treacly palate of plummy dark fruit, black tea, caramelised demerara, salted dark chocolate and liquorice, closing long with tobacco, chocolate, plum wine and a faint menthol lift. Full structured notes for both are in the tasting block below.
The rest of the August release
The other four bottles cover a lot of ground.
The Ardmore 41 years old is the oldest thing in the drop. Ardmore is a Highland distillery best known for its peated malt, most of which historically went into Teacher’s blends, so an official-age single malt at 41 years is a rare sight. Full specs were not listed at the time of writing, so confirm the ABV, cask and price on the product page.
The Old Orkney Relics 30 years old is the sentimental pick, and the most affordable at £120. Decadent Drinks owns the historic Old Orkney brand, and this is the final cask of Gordon & MacPhail’s original Old Orkney blend: whiskies distilled in 1996, married with a high proportion of Orkney malt, matured 30 years in a refill sherry butt and bottled at a soft, easy 41.7%. It leans into beeswax, heather honey, dried fruit and a waxy, leathery old-blend character.
Rounding out the drop are two richly sherried 19-year-olds under the Decadent Drams label, both bottled at a gently reduced 53%. The Tamdhu 19 (£149) comes from a second-fill sherry hogshead and is the more composed of the two, all sultana, date, fig and prune with earthy dark-bread and tobacco notes. The Dailuaine 19 (£145) is the bigger, meatier one: thirteen years in a refill hogshead then six in a first-fill sherry hogshead, giving a dense, classical sherry profile of dark-fruit chutney, plums in Armagnac, liquorice and bitter chocolate. Dailuaine is a Speyside distillery with a naturally weighty spirit, long valued as a blending malt, which is why it stands up to that much sherry.
Price and availability
Everything is sold directly through decadent-drinks.com, which ships from the UK and handles international orders, including the US and much of Europe, with duty paid at checkout on many routes. As of writing, the two Whiskyland bottles are both in stock.
| Bottle | ABV | Cask | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ardmore 41 | 45,3% | Refill Hogshead | £399 |
| Whiskyland Dufftown 34 | 51.1% | Refill bourbon barrel | £485 |
| Daftmill 20 | 53% | First-fill sherry butt + barrel | £265 |
| Old Orkney Relics 30 | 41.7% | Refill sherry butt (blend) | £120 |
| Decadent Drams Tamdhu 19 | 53% | 2nd-fill sherry hogshead | £149 |
| Decadent Drams Dailuaine 19 | 53% | 1st-fill sherry hogshead finish | £145 |
These are single casks and small batches, so numbers are limited and the older bottles rarely hang around. Treat “in stock today” as exactly that.
Which to prioritise
The Daftmill 20 was always going to be the bottle everyone wanted, being the first independent Daftmill and the oldest yet bottled, and it went accordingly. If you got one, hold onto it.
If you missed it, or you would rather buy something to actually open, the Dufftown 34 is our pick of what is still available: old cask-strength Speyside from a distillery you rarely meet at this age, fresh and honeyed rather than tired. At £485 it is an enthusiast bottle, not an everyday one, but it is a coherent buy for anyone who chases old refill-cask malt.
And if you want the most whisky for the least money, the Old Orkney Relics 30 at £120 is a lot of old blended Scotch and a nice piece of brand history. Something here for most tastes, then, which is unusual even by Decadent Drinks’ standards.
Find bottles here
Frequently asked questions
What is in the Decadent Drinks August release? The August 2026 release is six bottles: a 41-year-old Ardmore, a 34-year-old Whiskyland Dufftown, the first independent 20-year-old Whiskyland Daftmill, a 30-year-old Old Orkney Relics blend, and two sherried 19-year-olds from Tamdhu and Dailuaine under the Decadent Drams label.
What is the Whiskyland Daftmill 20? It is the first ever independent bottling of Daftmill and the oldest to date, released as Whiskyland Chapter Thirty-Five by Decadent Drinks. Distilled in 2006, it is a small batch marrying a first-fill sherry butt and a first-fill bourbon barrel, bottled at 53% with a rich, sherried dark-fruit profile.
Is the Daftmill 20 still available? No. The Whiskyland Daftmill 20 was released on a strict one-bottle-per-customer limit and has already sold out through decadent-drinks.com, where it now sits in the archive. Any bottles you see elsewhere will be on the secondary market, typically above the original release price.
How much does the Whiskyland Dufftown 34 cost? The Whiskyland Dufftown 34 is £485 for a 70cl bottle, direct from decadent-drinks.com, and was still in stock at the time of writing. The price excludes shipping, which varies by destination for international buyers and may include duty at checkout.
Where can I buy the Decadent Drinks August release? The bottles are sold directly through decadent-drinks.com, which ships within the UK and internationally with duty handled at checkout on many routes. As single casks and small batches, the older bottles can sell out quickly, so availability is not guaranteed to last.
Are the Whiskyland bottles cask strength? The Dufftown 34 is, at 51.1% ABV, bottled at natural cask strength and not reduced with water. The Daftmill 20 is gently reduced to 53%. The Decadent Drams and Old Orkney bottles in this release are also reduced, between 41.7% and 53%.
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