Dallas Dhu 1974 (Connoisseurs Choice)

Dallas Dhu, this distilled in 1974 from the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, bottled at 40%. Dallas Dhu, founded in 1898 and named the dark water valley, closed in 1983. It was designed by Charles Doig, the great distillery architect, with his pagoda roofed kiln.

This was distilled in a single pair of pot stills with worm tubs on Altyre Burn water, for a medium bodied spirit that rewards long ageing. Decades in ex-Bourbon oak rounded the spirit, honey and toffee over fruit. No age is given, but vanillin vanilla and a waxy malt are well integrated. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the fruity, oily core over the decades. The cool Speyside air gives a slow, even maturation in the dunnage warehouses by Forres. Single malt is rare, mostly from the Rare Malts series and Gordon and MacPhail. Long ageing turns the fresh fruit towards dried fruit, wax and a warm spice. No more was made after 1983, though the distillery still stands as a museum.

At 40% it is smooth and fruity. Apple, toffee and a malty oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a soft toffee lift it. The finish runs oily, fruity and warm. This is a finite single malt from the lost Dallas Dhu distillery.