Dailuaine 9 Years Old 2013 Cask #324385 (Global Whisky Limited)

A Dailuaine of a 9 year old chosen by the bottler Global Whisky Limited, distilled in 2013, from cask 324385, bottled at 58%. 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 drawn off three wash and three spirit stills, to build a robust, malty, sherry loving character. A sherry cask wrapped the rich spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth, a fine match for the heavy malt. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted sugars (light caramel) over the heavy spirit. Maturation in the cool north east keeps the rich spirit balanced over the years. Dailuaine's heavy, malty make is prized by blenders for the body it gives. Most Dailuaine goes quietly into blends, a robust filler kept in part as single malt.

At its natural 58% it is concentrated. A rich, full bodied sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The texture is full and rich, the fruit lifted by a meaty malt. Dried fruit, malt and a savoury oak see out the finish. This is Dailuaine's heavy, meaty Speyside style.