Dallas Dhu 23 Years Old UD Queen’s Golden Jubilee (UD – bottler)

A 23 year old Dallas Dhu, from the bottler UD - bottler, bottled at 40%, one of 347 bottles. Dallas Dhu is the best preserved of the lost distilleries, a Victorian whisky museum frozen in time. Its malty, fruity spirit went almost entirely into blends, never sold as an official single malt in its day.

The spirit was worked through the pot stills for an oily, fruity make, for a medium bodied spirit that rewards long ageing. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the fruity character to the fore. Oxidative, evaporative ageing turns the malt deep and waxy, ethereal esters and a faint sotolon (maple). Most Dallas Dhu went quietly into the Roderick Dhu blend, a little surviving as single malt. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and honey over a malty fruit. Water came from the Altyre Burn, in the hollow south of Forres where the distillery sits. Closed in 1983, it was preserved whole rather than demolished, its profile fixed for good.

At an easy 40% it is light. A fruity, malty sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is oily, the fruit carried on a malty body. The finish is deep, malty and honeyed. This is a rare Speyside single malt from a closed distillery.