A wee trio of Dailuaine


March 2, 2026

A wee trio of Dailuaine

Dailuaine

Charles C. Doig's sketch for the recently rebuilt Dail-Uaine Distillery,
in The Building News, Dec. 6, 1889 (Whiskyfun Archive, republished)

And so we find ourselves back near Aberlour…

Dailuaine 11 yo 2014/2025 (57.9%, Lady of the Glen, recoopered US oak barrique finish, cask #309560, 262 bottles)

Pst, do our American friends really use the term ‘barrique’? Perhaps for their Bordeaux blends from Napa or Sonoma? Or is it American oak used to make barriques elsewhere? Colour: very ripe apricot. Nose: the colour does seem to corroborate the idea that it was a red wine cask, recoopered or not. But this nose is not overly about red fruits; still, there are indeed notes of cooked green pepper or even ratatouille, which would suggest cabernet. Blood oranges. With water: blood orange and pink grapefruit, plus a few drops of rum and liquid shoe polish. Mouth (neat): redcurrant jam and plenty of green pepper, plus touches of café latte. By the way, as we used to say fifteen years ago, the recipe for a latte is a normal coffee plus £5. It must be rather more by now. With water: we return to more amusing things, closer to the world of whisky, such as mint liquorice. Finish: long, with a coffee that does not abandon the fight, but into which you might have poured your glass of kirsch or plum eau-de-vie, as the old fellows used to do (who would then go off for a nap). Comments: really not very orthodox, but very well made and very pleasant. One ought to ask what the young guard thinks.
SGP:651 - 84 points.

Dailuaine 15 yo 2010/2025 (54.9%, The Whisky Blues, for BAM and Barrel Malt Bar, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #302844, 258 bottles)

If someone could one day explain to me the meaning of this very Taiwanese label, I should be most grateful. No, forget it, you have better things to do… Colour: pale gold. Nose: we are in hay, straw, paraffin oil, banana skin, bread dough… Could one be more natural than this? In any case, on the nose it is very textural, very ‘Dailuaine’. With water: exactly the same, no change. Mouth (neat): a perfect illustration of the fact that whisky is distilled beer. Ales and pilsners, under-ripe apples, artichokes, breads of all sorts… With water: … and shoe polishes and pistachio oil. Finish: long, oily, fat, with very handsome bitters. Comments: a rather demanding malt but one hundred per cent on the distillate’s style. That is well worth a small handful of extra points.
SGP:361 - 86 points.

Dailuaine 16 yo 2007/2024 (57.4%, Artful Dodger, Ardbeg sherry butt finish, cask #149, 732 bottles)

As far as the number of bottles is concerned, and before you start wondering what sort of sorcery this may be, do note that these are 50cl bottles. Still, this Ardbeg story is most intriguing… (we have dozens of Ardbeg or Kildalton to taste but I confess we are struggling to get down to them). Colour: lightish gold. Nose: difficult to categorise. Damp earth, pizza dough, rye bread, modelling clay, metal polish, little Italian-style preserved lemons… For the moment it feels slightly uncertain, slightly hesitant. With water: it reminds me of the Ardbeg 17-year-old from years ago, with that mix of strength and softness. Old tweed soaked through by repeated rains. We jest, but we probably have had far more rain lately than Scotland. Drill, baby, drill… yeah right. Mouth (neat): the Ardbeg is a thousand times more present, with a trio of peat, lemon and seawater that sweeps everything along in its wake. Even this little Dailuaine, which was probably fairly fat to begin with. That tells you something… With water: it rises to the occasion, with a touch of vinegar and above all gherkin brine. The acidity wipes out part of the fatness. Finish: long and much tenser, peaty, lively and lemony, yet without Ardbeg’s tar. Comments: rather a rollercoaster, this baby asks you to put in some work. It is for a good cause.
SGP:364 - 85 points.

Check the index of all Dailuaine we've tasted