Review by: dustbunna

Dailuaine is one of those distilleries that still seems to be on few people’s radar, yet puts out pretty consistently interesting and quaffable spirit. I’ve tried Dailuaines from multiple indies (as well as the OB Flora and Fauna 16yr) and though it doesn’t always pop in the way other distilleries with brasher spirit can, I’ve never had a bad one, and will blind-buy reasonably priced ones whenever I see them. This one comes from Single Cask Nation’s 2021 outturn, matured in first-fill ex-bourbon and bottled fairly young (most Dailuaines I see start to appear at around 12 years of age, I’m not sure if that has anything to do with their slightly meaty, floral, dense spirit needing time in oak to balance itself out.)

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Distillery: Dailuaine.

Bottler: Single Cask Nation (Jewish Whisky Company).

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 55.6%. Cask strength.

Age: 9 years. Distilled in 2012. Bottled in 2021.

Cask type: First-fill ex-bourbon barrel.

Price: $75 USD.

Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Bottle open across approx. 5 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.

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Nose: moss, cut stems, a bit of grassy smoke in the background, green melon, slightly tart mango, pineapple.

Palate: full-bodied ~ herbed sausage, more moss, oak spices, forest decay, hints of cooked mushrooms.

Finish: medium length ~ very green and floral, more green melon, more herbs, a bit more meatiness.

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Conclusion: Thoroughly enjoyable, solid, and interesting, like most Dailuaines I’ve tried so far. This one was a few years younger than the ones I’ve tried before, but the cask made up for any potential youth in the spirit and rounded things out nicely. It was pretty consistent across most of the bottle, as well, only really shifting in the final quarter (neither improving or deteriorating, just showing a different side of itself that I liked equally as much.)

Final Score: 85.

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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.