Dailuaine
The Dailuaine distillery was built in 1851 by William Mackenzie and was to become the largest whisky producing distillery within the Speyside region by the end of the 19th Centuary. In 1884 the distillery underwent a complete rebuild which saw the installation of Scotland’s first pagoda on a kiln whose pitch was deliberately steep to minimise the contact time between peat smoke and drying malt
In 1879 Williams son, Thomas forms Mackenzie and Company with James Fleming who has controlled the distillery since Williams death in 1865.
In 1898, the owners of Dailuaine merged with Talisker to form Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries Ltd.
Thomas Mackenzie dies in 1915 and in 1916 the distillery is sold to John Dewar and Sons, John Walker and Sons and James Buchanan and Co.
The distillery perishes in a fire in 1917 which see’s the pagoda roof destroyed and closure is the only option.
The distillery re-opens in 1920, fire once again hits the distillery in 1959 forcing a closure whilst repairs are undertaken.
Dailuaine re-opens in 1960 with two extra Stills bringing the number of still to 6..
1991 sees the first official release with the 16 year old Flora and Fauna bottling.
Batch 4 – 20 year old Dailuaine – That Boutique-y Whisky Company
Distillery.. Dailuaine
Region.. Speyside
Age.. 20 years
Abv.. 50.4%
Batch.. 4
Outturn.. 442 Bottles
Nose.. A candied orange peel scent soon leads into fresh pine aromas, chocolate digestives, damp grass, manuka honey and burnt toffee.
Palate.. Quite drying with oak tannins, ginger, burnt toffee and bitter coffee beans.. Hints of lemon peel, earthy Manuka honey and a subtle ashy note weaves in and out.
Finish.. Spices mingle with Oak
Thoughts.. I have always struggled with Dailuaine releases, i am not sure what it is but there is just something within that i find odd. I am far from saying there is anything bad about this, more like the opposite actually, it just comes across as odd to me.. Remember though opinions differ and you may just love this !! It will be interesting to see what Matt over at THE DRAMBLE makes of this one..
Review sample hails from this years Boutique-y Whisky Advent Calendar.
Bottle can be found at Master of Malt
ocdwhisky.com 