Review by: The Muskox
Dailuaine is a pretty off-the-beaten-path distillery. The enormous majority of their production goes into the various Diageo blends. I’ve probably enjoyed most of my Dailuaine as part of Compass Box blends, as it makes up 20% of their French-oak-matured “highland malt blend” which they frequently use in small amounts in special releases and which makes up the entirety of Oak Cross and Spice Tree. This bottling was a cask pick for Spec’s in Texas. I know the picture doesn’t quite match this exact bottling, but this was as close as I could find!
Distillery: Dailuaine.
Bottler: Signatory Vintage.
Region: Speyside.
ABV: 57.8%. Cask strength.
Age: 13 years. Distilled April 23rd 2007. Bottled May 15th 2020.
Cask type: Casks #303258, #303259, #303260, and #303262, all hogsheads.
Price: N/A, sample.
Color: Straw. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Spirity, sour, and fragrant. Green fruit notes of pear and lime. Lightly perfumed with a bit of a grassy-floral flavour. Buttery blondies with white chocolate. A bit salty.
With a dribble of water, it’s more floral and tropical, with a hint of creamy vanilla. Sour cream glazed donut! As it rests, a certain plant-root earthiness emerges.
Palate: Medium texture, quite hot. Sour underripe pineapple and pear up front, then sour honey, coconut, and blanched almonds. Dry salty driftwood on the development, along with cardamom and dried flowers.
Water beefs up the texture. It’s still tart and green on the arrival, but now spicy on the development with thick wood, nutmeg, and almonds. Even more perfumed. Earthy bitterness again.
Finish: Medium-short. Sour, fragrant, and dry, almost bitter. Macadamia nuts. Coconut oil. Sea spray. Grapefruit oil and sour lemon sherbet. Lightly creamy. Sour-cream-glazed donut.
With water it’s more sherbet, but still tart and bitter. Juuuuust a little bit of honey and menthol (Carmex??).
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Prickly pear palm tree puckertude”
Conclusion: A challengingly spirity and dry whisky. There’s an interesting mix of floral and tropical flavours in here, but they’re underneath a bramble of green tartness. Water makes things a bit easier, but it still doesn’t quite get balanced. This seems like the kind of whisky that’d really settle down as you’d work through the bottle. I tried to let my sample sit for several months between pours, and there’s maybe been a little bit of a difference. It’s a decent whisky but it certainly demands your attention while sipping.
Final Score: 77.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 