
July 19, 2016

Little duets, Dailuaine twenty years later

Shouldn’t we expect some meat, some leather, some ‘good’ sulphur, and a certain fatness?

Dailuaine-Glenlivet 11 yo 2004/2016 (46%, Cadenhead, sherry wood, Small Batch)

Colour: gold. Nose: it does have this typical leathery start (that comes with one struck match), as well as roasted chestnuts and Corinth raisins, which gives a rather warm feeling. I really enjoy the malty meatiness too, and that’s not Marmitte! Rather ham and mint, or something similar. Excellent balance, as often with small batches (vs. single casks). Mouth: excellent, firm, rich. Spicy cake, cloves, cumin, green peppercorn, marmalade, Japanese crackers (the ones that have quite some soy sauce around), a little coffee, some grass… A lot of action in this wee baby that’s very fairly priced. Finish: long, a little mustardy, perhaps. In France we have a recipe called palette à la diable, which is some ham cooked in a sweetish mustard sauce. Comments: an excellent price, some very good and ‘typical’ whisky, we don’t need more, do we. SGP:462 - 87 points.

And twenty years earlier…

Dailuaine 30 yo 1984/2015 (53.3%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, refill bourbon hogshead, #41.64, ‘Sharing, caring loving dram’, 210 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s interesting to notice that what’s usually associated with some sherry (sulphur smells) may also be there in an ex-bourbon malt such as Dailuaine, or Mortlach, or a few other malts that are sulphury ‘by design’. Having said that this is fresher, fruitier, and more citrusy than the 2004. It’s even kind of green, with some rhubarb and kiwi. How green is that? A touch of meat too. Steak! With water: some chalk and saltpetre. Mouth (neat): very intriguing. Sulphury honey, does that ring a bell? And again, it is ‘good’ sulphur. Expresso coffee and lemon rind, an unusual combination. With water: good maltiness, sweeter grapefruits, orange blossom honey, and always a wee sulphury touch. Finish: medium, marmalade-y and rather gingery. Cinnamon in the aftertaste. Comments: very good, just less ‘immediate’ than the 2004 – which, I agree, wasn’t very ‘immediate’ either. SGP:551 - 84 points.

Check the index of all Dailuaine I've tasted so far

Pete McPeat and Jack Washback