Dailuaine 15 Years Old 1998 Cask #10976 (Duncan Taylor)

From the Huntly bottler Duncan Taylor, a 15 year old Dailuaine, distilled in 1998, from cask 10976, bottled at 54.6%, one of 312 bottles. Dailuaine is a full bodied Speyside malt of real depth, mostly bottled by independents. Water comes from the Bailliemullich Burn, the spirit drawn off three wash and three spirit stills.

The spirit was run through the distillery's big copper stills, giving the heavy, meaty spirit at its heart. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla beneath the robust, full bodied spirit. In the oxidative middle years oxidation draws out a deeper dried fruit, vanillin and lactones fully expressed. Dailuaine's heavy, malty make is prized by blenders for the body it gives. The distillery was founded in 1852 by William Mackenzie on the banks of the Spey at Carron. In 1889 it became the first distillery to use the pagoda roof, the Doig Ventilator designed by Charles Doig.

At its natural 54.6% it is concentrated. A heavy, malty fruitiness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is heavy, the fruit carried on a meaty, malty body. The close is long, fruit over a rich malt. This is Dailuaine's heavy, meaty Speyside style.