Oh Dailuaine - I love you. What a great distillery! Every bottle I've ever had from them - all independent bottlers, because Diageo is foolish and won't invest in them as a single malt release - has been lovely, lovely. This is a single cask release from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), nicknamed Brooding Armchair Dram (alright!), and with a primarily bourbon maturation (13 years) but with a rich PX sherry finish (2 years).
Here are the official notes:
The initial comment was “this appears to be a brooding dram’, with aromas of treacle, blackcurrant liquorice, and hoisin sauce but there was also a sweeter side to it with dates, raisins and cinnamon toast. On the palate the toast was spread with spice-infused cherry preserve including cinnamon and cloves as well as dry red wine. After reduction we sat in our favourite armchairs, next to us a round side table made from hazelnut wood and on top a leather-bound antique book. To taste we enjoyed cinnamon muffins with an espresso. Following thirteen years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a 2nd fill American oak PX hogshead.
As the oldest Dailuaine I've yet had, I am very interested in this. Blackcurrant licorice! Hoisin sauce! The dates, raisins, cinnamon doesn't surprise me one bit given the PX finish. What Ia m most curious about is the watermelon candy note I often get from Dailuaine - will it be buried in the sherry? Bottled at a very solid 59.8% ABV. Let's enjoy:
Nose: Well, the official notes don't lie - the very first scent I pick up is hoisin sauce ("plum sauce"). Hoisin is traditionally made with soy, garlic, chilis, and fennel, so I guess that is what I'm also smelling. After that I get a strong whiff of that grape/watermelon sour Jolly Rancher candy that is Dailuaine's signature to me, followed by fragrant baking spices, some wood polish, some vanilla, new leather, and a rich "red meat" note. Like an uncooked steak, freshly unwrapped. I understand why they call this "brooding" - it's a very dark nose, not much brightness at all.
With water: Still quite meaty... really doesn't change much at all with water, on the nose. Adds a thin layer of malt sugars.
Mouthfeel: Medium.
Palate: The palate is surprisingly divergent from the nose, and featured some really interesting/odd flavors. I'm getting a lot of bright grape candy (Nerds, Jolly Rancher, Spree - like that)... meat... cherry pie... red wine... and more of the baking spices. It's very unusual to get "candy" and "red meat" and "pie" in the same sip, but here it is. The oddest part is they all work together hand-in-hand. I guess that's the age working in its favor.
With water: Oddly, also doesn't change much on the palate. I expected some expansion, some new layers... no, it's still grape candy, meat, cherries, red wine, some dry spices.
Finish: Hint of smoke and ash, leather, wood, puckering sour fruit - watermelon, there you are!
Verdict: A slightly unusual Dailuaine... but not too unusual. Still that "fresh fruit candy" note (that I also get with Clynelish independent bottles, but without the chalk and wax from Clynelish), but with some sherry notes (especially the meat) added on top. It's great if you like fresh, buoyant, characterful whisky! But it is, perhaps, a bit brooding - it develops along closed lines, maybe. Still - interesting, worth your time.
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