Dailuaine 12 Years Old 2009 Cask #HQF 307388 (Huang Qing Feng)

The bottler Huang Qing Feng bottled this Dailuaine, a 12 year old, distilled in 2009, from cask HQF 307388, bottled at 57.1%, one of 17 bottles. Dailuaine is a rich, meaty Speyside single malt from the banks of the Spey near Aberlour. Most of its make goes to blending, with a Flora and Fauna sixteen year old the regular single malt.

Distilled in large conical necked stills on Bailliemullich Burn water, for the rich, full bodied make Dailuaine is known for. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla beneath the robust, full bodied spirit. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into vanilla as ethyl esters lend a riper orchard fruit over the meaty malt. Years in oak round the spirit, the fruit deepening to dried fruit and a savoury spice. The full bodied make rewards a long, patient maturation in good wood.

At 57.1%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. Dried fruit, malt and a rich, savoury depth, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is heavy, the fruit carried on a meaty, malty body. A full, malty finish ends on dried fruit and a warm spice. This is a rich, malty Speyside single malt.