Dramfool Draws on One of Whisky's Best Palates to Bottle Exceptional Scotch
Andrew Whiteley is K&L’s Spirits Buyer.
Dramfool has been bottling independent casks since 2015. Across scores of bottlings, they’ve earned a phenomenal reputation for quality and for their ability to bottle unique casks that simply cannot be had from any other source. The company first came to our attention when it was announced they were bottling Jim McEwan’s personal casks. We thought it curious that Mr. McEwan, perhaps the most well-connected man in all of Scotch whisky, didn’t partner with a long-heralded bottler that had decades of experience when it came time to bottle and sell his personal nest egg. So, we decided to dig in to Dramfool, the people behind it, and their bottlings.
It quickly became apparent that the phenomenal reputation for quality in the bottle comes from the spectacular palate of founder Bruce Farquhar. His mantra is “I only bottle whisky that I like.” While that statement is deceptively simple to say; to execute it for every cask is plainly not. To frame this in wine terms: it would be like Robert Parker opening a wine brokerage company and saying, “I only bottle 99 and 100 point wines,” and then actually sticking to it! Every cask that gets bottled and labeled as a Dramfool cask has passed his critical palate’s highest standard. The casks that cross his desk and don’t make the cut? Simply sold down the line for the next bottler to do with as they please. Like wine scores—if you like the reviewer, the score becomes worth something. If you find a few Dramfool bottlings to your taste, you can be pretty sure that your palate aligns with Bruce’s and you’ll enjoy future bottlings as well. All of them we’ve tasted have been pretty damn good to our palates, and we expect our customers will love them as well.
Dramfool’s Bruce Farquhar has one of the best palates in the whisky biz.
Between that iron-clad reputation for quality and the fact he and his partner Colin Fraser both are extremely likable characters, people who own exceptional casks want them to get bottled as a Dramfool bottling. It turns out even Jim McEwan was no exception. While the McEwan Signature Series is certainly unique in all of Scotch whisky provenance, it turns out many of the other casks bottled by Dramfool are as well. It’s not unusual to see “personal casks” come through Dramfool’s lineup. If an individual purchased a cask of whisky, say 20 years ago when they did “whisky school” at Bruichladdich or Springbank or another similar program, they might find when the whisky is mature that they don’t have a use for 250 bottles of it! Many folks in this enviable position reach out to Dramfool to bottle. If the cask cuts the mustard upon inspection, it’s in. Casks that would normally never wind up on the open market become a core part of Dramfool’s identity.
While we historically bottle full casks for our direct imports, Dramfool’s high demand in Europe and direct sales model there means we are typically only able to peel off small quantities of each cask they sell. Often just a couple cases for the entire U.S.! This past container actually ended up with two shipments from Dramfool on it due to some logistical hiccups. Because of this we currently have the largest selection of Dramfool casks we’re ever likely to see. Some top highlights include:
2002 Bruichladdich 20 Year Old "Dramfool" Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $349.99
Click here for the full Dramfool lineup.
- Andrew Whiteley, Spirits Buyer