Dailuaine 17 Years Old 2001 Spiced Gumdrops (Wemyss)

The bottler Wemyss Malts bottled this Dailuaine, a 17 year old, distilled in 2001, bottled at 46%, one of 336 bottles. Dailuaine, founded in 1852, gave Scotch its first pagoda roofed kiln. Most of its make goes to blending, with a Flora and Fauna sixteen year old the regular single malt.

It was distilled for the heavy, full bodied spirit Dailuaine is known for, building the heavy Dailuaine style. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding vanilla and a soft honey. Into oxidative maturity, slow air ingress builds fruity ethyl esters (apple and dried fruit) over the meaty, malty depth. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and fruit over a rich malt. Years in oak round the spirit, the fruit deepening to dried fruit and a savoury spice. Maturation in the cool north east keeps the rich spirit balanced over the years. It passed to DCL and Scottish Malt Distillers in the 1920s and was later modernised.

At 46% it is smooth and honeyed. 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. The finish runs meaty, fruity and warm. This is one of Speyside's heavier single malts.