Dailuaine 17 Years Old 1997 Cask #7187 + 7189 (Signatory)

A 17 year old Dailuaine from the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, distilled in 1997, from cask 7187 + 7189, bottled at 46%, one of 393 bottles. Dailuaine is a full bodied Speyside malt of real depth, mostly bottled by independents. It passed to DCL and Scottish Malt Distillers in the 1920s and was later modernised.

It was distilled for the heavy, full bodied spirit Dailuaine is known for, for a rich, meaty make that suits sherry wood. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the oak letting the heavy, malty character lead. In the oxidative middle years oxidation draws out a deeper dried fruit, vanillin and lactones fully expressed. The full bodied make rewards a long, patient maturation in good wood. Its rich, robust malt has long been a backbone of the Johnnie Walker blends. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the meaty malt. Most Dailuaine goes quietly into blends, a robust filler kept in part as single malt.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded. Orchard fruit, malt and a warm spice, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is heavy, the fruit carried on a meaty, malty body. The finish is deep, rich and savoury. This is the robust, sherried malt of Carron.