Review by: Whiskery Turnip
Distillery: Dailuaine.
Bottler: Thompson Brothers.
Region: Scotland/Speyside Single Malt.
ABV: 55.4%. Cask Strength.
Age: 12 Years. Distilled on 7 June 2010. Bottled in June 2022.
Cask type: Refill Hogshead, PX Hogshead (6 months).
Nose: Caramel and stewed stone fruits with cherry jam, licorice, and burnt match heads; a panoply of fruity desserts with jujube, ume, perilla, and caramel over occasional hints of butter or leather.
Palate: Medium-bodied, syrupy and waxy, stewed fruits, toffee, birthday cake candles and sugary frosting, more subtle notions of shiso, anise, and black pepper with stewed plums.
Finish: Long and syrupy with stewed fruits and sugary delights.
Mental Image: Berry Cobbler-Scented Candles.
Conclusion: The aroma was fruity and inventing, with stewed peaches, apricots, and plums drifting toward berry jam with a touch of licorice, cinnamon, and butter. Additional depth came through with brunt match sticks and hints of leather as a parade of tangy, almost medicinal jujube, ume, and perilla arrived with more caramel. Medium-bodied, the palate was initially syrupy but quickly turned toward a paraffin or birthday cake candle waxiness. The mouthfeel was the best part, as the flavors were otherwise standard stewed fruits, toffee, and frosting with more subtle hints of licorice-driven shiso, anise, and tingling black pepper. The finish was nice and long as the fruits and sugary birthday cake notes continued.
The mouthfeel and finish were beautiful, but the profile featured rather standard sherry-cask-driven flavors. The malt seemed mostly subsumed under the cask, providing that wonderful waxy quality but otherwise drifting off into the netherworld.
Overall, sure to please sherry fans— not bad, but not my style. It was a touch too sweet to be something I would reach for often.
Final Score: 79.
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 