Dailuaine 16 Years Old 2008 Cask #40236 (Elixir)

Sukhinder Singh's Elixir Distillers bottled this Dailuaine, a 16 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask 40236, bottled at 56.7%, one of 286 bottles. Dailuaine, founded in 1852, gave Scotch its first pagoda roofed kiln. Its big stills give a heavy, full bodied spirit that takes sherry wood especially well.

It was distilled for the heavy, full bodied spirit Dailuaine is known for, for a big, full Speyside spirit. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin, fig and walnut to the robust malt. Into oxidative maturity, slow air ingress builds fruity ethyl esters (apple and dried fruit) over the meaty, malty depth. The rich, full bodied spirit takes cask flavour well, especially sherry wood. A first fill sherry cask suits the robust spirit, dried fruit meeting the meaty weight. The big stills give a heavy spirit that takes a long, sherried maturation in its stride.

At a hearty 56.7% it carries real weight. A heavy, malty fruitiness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The texture is full and rich, the fruit lifted by a meaty malt. A full, malty finish ends on dried fruit and a warm spice. This is Dailuaine's heavy, meaty Speyside style.