Today young vs old Dailuaine


July 1, 2021

	Summer Duets Today young vs. old Dailuaine
	In my humble little book, Dailuaine's not the easiest malt whisky ever, especially when sherry's on the streets. Sulphury greases and oils may roam the neighbourhood… or not… Let's first try a young one and then a very old one, if you please…

Dailuaine 12 yo 2008/2021 (54.8%, Fable Whisky, The Ghost Piper of Clanyard Bay, Chapter One, cask #307138, 267 bottles)

I'm not dead sure I'm getting the whole story here, but I find the label pretty. Yeah right, when the wise man shows the moon, the fool looks at his finger… Colour: white wine. Nose: no 'S', rather a lot of nougat and popcorn, roasted pecans, peanut butter, fudge and toffee, butterscotch… That's all in safe territory, let's go on… With water: perfect. Raw wool, grist, fresh bread, linseed oil, perfect development with water. Mouth (neat): oh very, very good, really. Perfect roasted cereals, cornflakes, nougat, firmer honeys, touch of earth, liquorice, a smidgen of smoked tea, half a spoonful of marmalade… Modern witchcraft here, perfectly executed. With water: sweet breads, liqueurs, soft spices, citrus, teas… Finish: rather long, perfectly balanced, malty and citrusy. Comments: I'm afraid I've used the word 'perfect' too many times this time again. I'll need to buy a proper dictionary of synonyms! And of antonyms while I'm at it. Any suggestions? Ah, yes, this young Dailuaine… Well, it was just perfect.
SGP:551 - 88 points.

Dailuaine 46 yo 1973/2019 (45.1%, Hunter Laing, Platinum Old & Rare, 231 bottles)

Always loved this series. Oh, the Broras, oh the Port Ellens! And imagine, a newish 1973 Dailuaine, isn't this very… Led Zeppelin? Colour: gold. Nose: the kind of complex secondary and tertiary aromas that only old whiskies can give to the world. Wonderful whiffs of teak oil (just worked with that funny liquid), beeswax, leather polish, then rather manuka honey and mangos, honeysuckle, fresh-sawn cherrywood, zucchini and elderberry flowers, a drop of pink olive oil perhaps, balsa wood… Well all is wonderful and good, but as we both know, with very old whiskies the devil lies on our palates… Mouth: well, no devils in sight, rather a few aesthetes pondering the respective merits of oils, waxes, leaves and softer ointments in old whiskies. It is not even fragile (it's true that 45% vol. remains a safe strength.) Rather a combination of fruit peelings and skins (melon, apples) with various herbal teas, and several kinds of waxes. No obvious wood in the way, only wood oils, which is so much nicer. Banana skin. Finish: not even short, with more waxes and leaves and fruit peelings. What's even greater is that fruits would gather in the aftertaste, bananas, oranges, apples… Comments: you always handle these old rockers with much care and quite some apprehension, but in this very case, that was not needed. Imagine, 1973, that's Goats Head Soup, Berlin, Dark Side Of The Moon, Brain Salad Surgery, Houses of the Holy, Aladdin Sane and quite a few others!
SGP:451 - 90 points.

I promise we'll do a super-large Dailuaine session later in the year.

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