Dailuaine 20 Years Old 1998 Cask #11374 (Signatory)

From the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, a 20 year old Dailuaine, distilled in 1998, from cask 11374, bottled at 52.3%, one of 269 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.

Distilled in large conical necked stills on Bailliemullich Burn water, building the heavy Dailuaine style. 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. Years in oak round the spirit, the fruit deepening to dried fruit and a savoury spice. Its rich, robust malt has long been a backbone of the Johnnie Walker blends. It had its own railway siding and a little locomotive, Dailuaine No.1, known as the Puggy. The name is Gaelic for the green vale, after the hollow in which the distillery sits.

At its natural 52.3% it is concentrated. A robust, sherried maltiness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked fruit and a warm spice lift it. The finish is long, rich and savoury. This is one of Speyside's heavier single malts.