Review by: The Muskox

Here’s another “wait, I never typed up this review?” review. I gave this bottle to my best friend as a wedding gift – he loves waxy Clynelish, which was completely unavailable for reasonable money for me at the time. I was willing to chance that a late 90s Dailuaine could fill in for that profile. We both agreed that it did, and that was that! I took my rough notes, then… didn’t write up the review? This was in May last year… I’ll reconstruct my review from my notes and memories. I’m glad I remembered to write down a score at the time.

---

Distillery: Dailuaine.

Bottler: Hart Brothers.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 52.8%. Cask strength.

Age: 21 years. Distilled in March 1999. Bottled in June 2020.

Cask type: Bourbon barrel.

Price: $204 CAD in 2022.

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

---

Nose: Hey, there’s some paraffin! Light fruit – lemon zest, green apple, gooseberry, honeydew, and some pineapple. Light oak and spice. Rather malty. Mineral oils and a hint of wood smoke.  

Palate: Thick texture. Arrives sweet and tart with coconut, green apple, light vanilla, and citronella candles. Cereals and nuts – Nature Valley Bars. Develops to toasted oak, milk chocolate, and toffee.

Finish: Long. Wax, honey, pineapple, coconut, crunchy oats and malt. Golden-brown marshmallows. I have “dirty sock” written in my notes with no other context… I wonder if that was a joke or not.

---

Possible SMWS bottling name: “Kirkland Signature outrigger canoe”

Conclusion: “Delicious!” was the only conclusion I wrote in my notes at the time. Oh well. From what I remember, this was a delicious well-rounded scotch that managed some wax. It works in that context of being a faux-Clynelish, but it’s really a heavier dram, a la Teaninich or Dalwhinnie. It’s maybe not the most complex dram in the world, but my friend and I both love this style so much that we don’t care. Great texture and finish, too. Man, I really hope “dirty sock” was a joke.

Final Score: 87.

---

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.