Dallas Dhu 13 Years Old 1974 (G&M)

The Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail selected this Dallas Dhu, a 13 year old, distilled in 1974, bottled at 59.6%, one of 207 bottles. Dallas Dhu is the best preserved of the lost distilleries, a Victorian whisky museum frozen in time. It was built in 1898 by the entrepreneur Alexander Edward, who first named it Dallasmore.

This was distilled for a malty, fruity Speyside spirit, building the old fashioned Dallas Dhu style. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla beneath the fruity, honeyed spirit. In integration lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the spirit, fruit deepening to dried fruit and honey. The malty, fruity spirit takes cask flavour well while keeping its oily, honeyed core. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and honey over a malty fruit. It was designed by Charles Doig, the great distillery architect, with his pagoda roofed kiln. With Dallas Dhu silent since 1983, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock.

Bottled at a cask strength 59.6%, it is rich. Orchard fruit, honey and a faint smoke, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Apple, honey and a waxy oil fill the middle. A malty, honeyed finish ends on apple and toffee. This is an oily, honeyed Speyside single malt.