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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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January 28, 2021 |
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Indeed, we had a second wee box of Dailuaines, apologies… Why not try an earlier vintage at a lighter strength, as today's aperitif? |
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Dailuaine 27 yo 1983/2010 (46%, Mo Or Collection, bourbon hogshead, cask #869, 407 bottles) 
What a nice little collection that was! Colour: light gold. Nose: oh lovely, rather on sunflower oil, church candle, a very delicate sulphur again (stone), lamp oil, paraffin, lanolin, rubbed orange skin, a touch of mustard… Could be that glass maturation's already had some impact here. That always works even better on 43-46% vol. whiskies than on cask strength. Awesome nose. Mouth: clearly, good OBE in motion here. Pine resin, lime juice, holly spirit (not holy spirit!), rapeseed oil, plasticine, touches of pistachio, grapefruit… This is absolutely terrific, in fact. There's an awesome medicinal and smoky side to it. Finish: medium, just perfect. Rather crème de menthe and green bananas. That works a treat. Comments: wham, we're too fast already. Now to catch one of these bottles…
SGP:462 - 89 points. |
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Dailuaine 9 yo (46%, James Eadie, Small Batch, 1st and refill bourbon, 703 bottles, 2018) 
I know I've been a little harsh on James Eadie yesterday (after months of nothing but praise) but it was a wacko cask. This is pure bourbon… Colour: straw. Nose: et voilà. Vanilla, earth, fresh barley, grist, green bananas, fresh pancakes, and that faint sulphur that belongs to the Distillery's style. Et voilà. Mouth: simple pleasures well concocted. More custard, a little lime, pepper, lager, and some melon jam and apple liqueur. Spanish things I believe. Finish: medium, very good, with more green oranges. A touch of sawdust and English black tea in the aftertaste. Comments: et voilà, very good, not complicated, while retaining Dailuaine's signature mineral sulphur.
SGP:551 - 84 points. |
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Dailuaine 2008/2018 (49.2%, Or Sileis, sherry hogshead, cask #18898, 135 bottles) 
I find this label splendid; it reminds me of Stanisław Szukalski's work. Granted, Google isn't our friend but you may make use of it. Colour: gold. Nose: this time we're rather all on old benzine (hints at sulphur indeed), walnuts just as old, roots and autumn leaves, green tobacco, potpourri… And rose petals, and even gewurztraminer. A feeling of coal smoke too. A tad loco but intriguing. With water (because we must): closes down and gets very leafy, although there would be pleasant notes of old-style orange cordial too. Mouth (neat): starts a little bitter, on artichoke, pepper, more old walnuts (how many times have we already mentioned walnuts since yesterday morning?) and just bitter oranges. Gears even more towards bitters after that. Not the easiest whisky ever! With water: indeed. Bitter ale, walnut wine, cinchona, grandpa's tonics… A touch of butterscotch too. Finish: medium, on teas and tobaccos. Comments: I like it but the more recent Dailuaines by our friends in Taiwan had been in a higher league. IMHO.
SGP:461 - 82 points. |
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Dailuaine 12 yo 2008/2020 (57.8%, Watt Whisky, 312 bottles)
Got to love the Watts' minimalistic labels, whilst most other indie ones start to look more and more like Jeff Koons having repainted the Sistine Chapel. Colour: white wine. Nose: as they say, they have captured Dailuaine's essence here. Engine oil, grape pips oil, grist, porridge, soot… With water: essential Dailuaine. Sulphur stone – or powder, chalk, flints, grist, raw wool, grapefruits. Mouth (neat): oh very good! Huge oranges covered with sesame oil, grass juice and liquid paraffin. Very tart, as tart as the tartest mezcals from Oaxaca's remotest valleys. Lime. With water: wonderful. Same profile, just rather more barley-y. Finish: long, tense, vertical and yet fattish. Perhaps a drop of fish oil. Grapefruits in the aftertaste. Comments: didn't we mention those rare fattish Dailuaines that could be part of the HP-to Springbank trip via Clynelish and Ben Nevis right yesterday? Well this is another good example. No, really, I think the label is fine.
SGP:462 - 89 points. |
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Dailuaine 11 yo (54.3%, James Eadie, PX finish, 271 bottles, 2018)
Indeed I'm not a fan of PX finishes, but they do that right. But crikey, they have this at Amazon, where they suggest this would go well with a 'Reusable coffee cup, a premium insulated tumbler with a lid'. The pick of the dungeons, really, civilisation is over. Now get this, if I ever spot anyone quoting WF's notes or scores on stinky Amazon, I immediately send a bunch of highly motivated Alsatian guerrilleros. Colour: gold. Nose: typical soft oils, peanut butter, custard, sunflower oil, and just fresh croissants. Wet plaster and a little saltpetre. A fine nose. With water: as usual, more raw wool, more grist, and more metal polish. Mouth (neat): oh good! No cloying PX in sight, rather this mineral oiliness, sulphur, green walnuts and all that. Good. With water: gets even thicker and oilier, you almost need a mocha spoon to get it out of your tulip. Tulip glass. Very green, grassy, oily. Grape pips, blackcurrant leaves, stems. Finish: long, on the same notes, more or less. More paraffin. Comments: very good and yet pretty austere. For malt exegetes only, I suppose – but those fine folks wouldn't do Amazon, would they?
SGP:362 - 84 points. |
Sure we'll go on, as there is no hell for he who has already navigated a waterfall (calm down, S.)… |
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Dailuaine-Glenlivet 10 yo 2008/2019 (59.8%, Cadenhead, Small Batch)
This baby from three bourbon hogsheads. If you want to know about everything, it was part of their 25th International Release. BTW W.M. Cadenhead , keep this range and don't discontinue it, it's shaped like a diamond and they are diamonds! And raise the price from £50 to £60 or more if you must! Oh, and kumbaya! Colour: straw. Nose: a little hot but that's the high strength. Acetone and vanilla. Quick… With water: fun stuff. Jell-O, leek, eggplant and Palmolive. I am not joking. Mouth (neat): but yes this is good, cake-y, seemingly a little gentler than the others… But it is strong. I believe it's a style that needs water anyway. With water: I was wrong, it's full of vegetables, fruit peelings, banana skin, eating grass… Well, it's a good conversationalist, but it is real pain in the neck too. Finish: rather long, on more peelings and grasses. Some sourness. Comments: that one was a bugger. You'd almost believe it's a French government worker.
SGP:461 - 80 points. |
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Dailuaine-Glenlivet 10 yo 2008/2019 (60.6%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 294 bottles) 
Colour: straw. Nose: baker's yeast, grist, a drop of umami, a little acetone, some oregano perhaps… But remember we're members of the P.O.N.A. That would be the Protect Our Nostrils Association. As a consequence, with water: wonderfully doughy, sour, fermentary… This is almost pure pizza dough. Mouth (neat): oh very good. Very tight, grassy, sulphury, this works like pliers on your tongue. Not that we're masochists, but I enjoy this. Totally in the style of those earlier Authentic Collections with their 'small cream labels' as we used to call them. You could have poured them into your Renault and presto, faster than a lousy Tesla! With water: fruits coming out, especially citrons. Herbs and greener spices, green peppercorns, cardamom… Finish: very long very grassy, fermentary, lemony… Some bone-dry cider. Comments: ueber-tight and very extreme. You could add 1,5 litres of H2O and it would keep fighting you back, what a beast. We should protect this stye, they're endangered species. Game?
SGP:461 - 87 points. |
Good, a last step back in time and I solemnly promise we won't have any other Dailuaines, I mean Daluanes, I mean Dailuanes, I mean Dailuanies, I mean Dailuaines before the month of July. Okay, August. |
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Dailuaine 27 yo 1962/1989 (50.8%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, USA, 75cl)
What's pretty funny is that, as it appears, you could find this rare juice under both the 'old black dumpy' and 'small cream label' liveries. Colour: pale gold. Nose: this is something completely different. Lady's moisturizer, bitter almonds, barley water, metal polish, carbon paper, old magazines… That's a profile that was rather to be found in the old black dumpies, but this time it came from a 'small cream label'. How's your head doing this far? Tell me if I should send the medics. With water: suet and soot (not bad, S.), paraffin, Play-Doh, marrow, oxtail soup, old leathers… Well we tend to cherish these kinds of deviations, but they remain deviations indeed. Imagine the general public being exposed to such perverse whiskies… Mouth (neat): seriously, this tastes of 'an old black dumpy'. Sand, coins, meats, bouillons, glutamate… With water: ah very good! Sweeter, rather on old wines, meads, and beers. Honeyed flavours tend to dominate the whole shebang. Finish: rather long. Salty, meaty, fermentary, winey. Comments: no one makes them like this anymore, and between us, I'm not sure anyone should. To be honest, we love them, but they do tend to lack focus and precision. But there, love this one, it's like when you love an old vinyl over Spotify, it's not about 'accuracy'.
SGP:362 - 88 points. |
I think We 'll call this a session. See you Dailuaine. |
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