Dailuaine 7 years old – Douglas Laing Provenance (46%)

Dailuaine is one of those background distilleries you rarely hear about, until you come across a Special Release (like the 34 year old released in the 2015 batch) or a nice single barrel of the stuff.

Barnard’s Dailuaine
Photo Credit: trinklaune.de

This is a blender’s distillery, serving as Diageo’s producer of character whisky for their blends. The distillery does not have a set character of its own, and produces whisky that’s either sulphury, nutty, grassy or waxy (supplementing  Clynelish in that aspect), according to the planned projections of the blending team. Accordingly, I don’t expect seeing any official bottlings of it, beyond the 16 year old Flora and Fauna still available on the market (for about £53).

Douglas Laing got hold of some lovely casks of Dailuaine (Fred said they have quite a bit of it), and it was part of the blend in the new Scallywag Cask Strength #2 reviewed here.

This cask needs some time to vent in the glass, but once given that time, it’s quite a lovely dram!

Photo Credit: masterofmalt.com

Douglas Laing’s Provenance Dailuaine 7 Years Old, Sherry Butt DMG 10960, Distilled May 2008, Bottled November 2015 (46% ABV, NCF, NC)

Appearance: bronze with thin legs forming off a pretty sturdy necklace pretty slowly.

Nose: first you get a hit of vinegar, green apples and white bread toasting. A man’s cologne, with spicy notes and tobacco. It’s 46% but it has quite an alcoholic bite on the nose. The background also has a hint of leather and some dried fruit. As the dram breathes, and you should give this one time, it becomes more and more a classic sherried whisky.

Palate: sweet and spicy with the spice becoming much stronger before giving way to a fruity sweetness, reminiscent of a baked red Apple with a little bit of jam on top (and just a dusting of cinnamon).

Linger: is a layer of sweetness on the tongue and the chalky dryness all over the mouth lightly spicy and becoming dryer and dryer with the spiciness very slowly dissipating. After the spice disappears, a hint of sweetness still remains on the tongue.

Conclusion

Starts out a little fiery, which is understandable for its age, and mellows in the glass as it breathes becoming a beautiful sherry bomb. Once again, proof that young whisky can be both age stated and excellent!