Dallas Dhu 35 Years Old 1975 Licensed Bottling (G&M)

The Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail selected this Dallas Dhu, a 35 year old, distilled in 1975, bottled at 40%. Dallas Dhu is the best preserved of the lost distilleries, a Victorian whisky museum frozen in time. It stands today as a museum, its stills, worm tubs and floor maltings kept just as they were.

Distilled for a malty, fruity Speyside spirit, for the malty, fruity make Dallas Dhu was known for. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light honeyed vanilla. Ethereal and old, decades draw the malt to a waxy, honeyed delicacy of sotolon, old oak and dried fruit. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the oily malt. A revival is now planned, with talk of restarting production at the old distillery. The very last cask was filled on the sixteenth of March 1983, when the distillery closed. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the fruity, oily core over the decades. No more was made after 1983, though the distillery still stands as a museum.

At an easy 40% it is light. Baked apple, honey and a waxy oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A dried fruit and a soft oak give it depth. The finish is long, fruity and oily. This is the fruity ghost of Dallas Dhu.