Dailuaine 24 Years Old 1997 Cask #11096201 (Connoisseurs Choice)

From the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, a 24 year old Dailuaine, distilled in 1997, from cask 11096201, bottled at 41.6%, one of 278 bottles. Dailuaine sits at Carron on the Spey, a big, sherried Speyside malt rarely seen on its own. It passed to DCL and Scottish Malt Distillers in the 1920s and was later modernised.

The spirit was made in large copper stills for a rich, robust make, for the rich, full bodied make Dailuaine is known for. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin, fig and walnut to the robust malt. Oxidative, evaporative ageing turns the malt deep and rich, ethereal esters and a faint sotolon (maple). The rich, full bodied spirit takes cask flavour well, especially sherry wood. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the meaty malt. Its rich, robust malt has long been a backbone of the Johnnie Walker blends.

At a natural 41.6% it is full and honeyed. Dried fruit, malt and a rich, savoury depth, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dried fruit and a malty depth give it weight. The finish is deep, rich and savoury. This is the rich, full bodied Speyside malt of Dailuaine.