David vs Goliath - The Battle of the Single Cask Sherry Bombs

 

I normally don't do posts like this, but I couldn't resist - I got both these bottles about a week apart and they begged for comparison. 

DAVID: A 13 year bottle of Dailuaine (a distillery owned and operated by Diageo, 98% of their production goes into Johnnie Walker), matured for 11 years in an Oloroso butt and another 2 year finish in a Pedro Ximenez butt. Bottled at 57.5% ABV by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). 

GOLIATH: A 12 year bottle Macallan (a renowned distillery owned and operated by The Edrington Group, famous for its high prices and sherry casking), matured for 10 years in an Oloroso butt and then revatted and finished for 2 years in a Pedro Ximenez butt. Bottled at 63.9% ABV by the SMWS.

So we have two massive sherry bombs. Can the smaller distillery keep up? Let's find out...

Nose, Dailuaine: Rich raisins, figs, dates... are undercut by a significant sulfur presence that announces itself as meat-in-red-wine-sauce. Rich chocolate. Some toasted nuts present. Hints of orange. Leans on the Oloroso butt rather than the PX finish. 

Nose, Macallan: This is less sweet, more savory, and more complex. Sweet and sour red wine, grape must, dried prunes, the same sulfurous meaty note but more gamey, like duck or venison. Also nutty. Leans a lot less on the resinous raisins. The PX cask here takes on a little more dominance.

Mouthfeel, Dailuaine: Fairly thin, but silky. 

Mouthfeel, Macallan: MUCH thicker here. 

Palate, Dailuaine: Follows the palate pretty closely: raisins, dates. Fig syrup. A little meaty, a little tannic. Nutty on the back end. Lots and lots of chocolate, almost fudge. But perhaps the biggest thing missing here that is present in the Macallan: baking spices. There is very little spice in the Dailuaine, comparatively. 

Palate, Macallan: An explosion of flavor, compared to the Dailuaine. Roasted nuts (almonds), charred raisins, duck in a prune sauce, rich rich sulfur. And spices galore: cloves, cinnamon, allspice, more. Raisin reduction. Bitter grape skins. This is very nice. 

Finish, Dailuaine: Nuts and raisins and oak and a little pepper. Red wine notes. Earthy finish. Quite pleasant. 

Finish, Macallan: A big glowing finish of wispy smoke, charred orange peel, maraschino cherry, chocolate, black pepper, oak. Rich oak. Memorable.

Winner: Out of 100, I would give the Macallan a 95 and the Dailuaine a 90. Which is high praise for both of them. These are great sherry bombs, at full strength, and worth seeking out. I had a lot of fun doing these back-to-back and will perhaps do another experiment like this soon with peated whiskies.