Dailuaine 18 Years Old 1996 No. 33 (Maltbarn)

An 18 year old Dailuaine from the bottler Maltbarn, distilled in 1996, bottled at 48.7%, one of 159 bottles. Dailuaine, whose name is Gaelic for the green vale, is a heavy, full bodied Speysider. Most of its make goes to blending, with a Flora and Fauna sixteen year old the regular single malt.

The spirit was worked through the big stills for a meaty, malty spirit, for a big, full Speyside spirit. A bourbon barrel held it, vanilla and a soft spice over the malty spirit. In the oxidative middle years oxidation draws out a deeper dried fruit, vanillin and lactones fully expressed. A first fill sherry cask suits the robust spirit, dried fruit meeting the meaty weight. Long ageing turns the fresh fruit towards dried fruit, fig, leather and a warm spice. In 1889 it became the first distillery to use the pagoda roof, the Doig Ventilator designed by Charles Doig.

At a hearty 48.7% it carries real weight. Apple, dried fruit and a meaty edge, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A dried fruit and a malty depth give it weight. The close is long, fruit over a rich malt. This is the rich, full bodied Speyside malt of Dailuaine.