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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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January 30, 2026 |
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WF's Quirky Little Duos,
over around Inverness
(Dallas Dhu vs Glen Albyn) |
We’ve only got one Dallas Dhu and one Glen Albyn left untasted in the stash, so here’s the perfect opportunity to try them both—especially as these old legends were only about 28 miles apart. Both distilleries fell silent in 1983.
(Google/AI) |
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Dallas Dhu 18 yo 1977/1995 (59.7%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, USA) 
Note that Angus has just tasted this wee baby from Forres for WF and liked it a lot; we couldn’t lag behind. Rumours of Dallas Dhu restarting, mothballed since 1983 I remind you, keep swirling about, but for now the distillery appears to remain a museum, or a ‘Heritage Distillery’ as they call it. We’ll have to go there sometime, we’ve read some excellent reports… Colour: pale gold. Nose: this is quite a magnificent nose, half-pastry-like and half-industrial, combining fresh concrete and engine grease with walnut cake and groundnut oil. But the very high strength still stands in the way a little, even after thirty years in bottle, so water will be welcome. With water: well it tightens up on fresh barley, damp earth, putty and paraffin. Mouth (neat): much more vivid on the palate, very lemony, chalky, reminiscent of a fat yet sharp sauvignon blanc from the east of the Loire. The expected notes of slightly salted grapefruit, and even mezcal, are here too. With water: perfect, very old-school in texture, almost a little sulphury à la Mortlach. Notes of fresh mushrooms and a light dustiness that calls to mind an antiques shop. This is certainly an antique malt! Finish: long, oily, almost thick, you almost feel like you’ll need a wee spoon to scoop out the rest of your glass. The discreet salty touch in the dying moments signs off the whole with flair. Comments: well, we’re 100% with Angus on this one.
SGP:462 - 91 points. |
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Glen Albyn 42 yo 1980/2023 (51.1%, Gordon & MacPhail, The Dram Takers, Book of Kells label, refill sherry puncheon, 75 bottles)
So then, the distillery was closed in 1983 and demolished in 1988. Personally, I’ve often had trouble with Glen Albyn, a malt I’ve always found rather unpredictable, though I must admit I’ve tasted very little from its final years, the early 1980s. In any case, I’ve only tried about thirty Glen Albyns all in all, but hats off to Gordon & MacPhail for managing to share another drop with us, and at such a charming bottling strength too… Colour: gold. Nose: what’s truly striking is that we find that same wax, especially the paraffin that was already present in the Dallas Dhu, though here it’s joined by fruity jams, between fig—clearly dominant—and a rather unexpected mango. The whole is adorned with menthol and pine sap, a classic feature of these malts, along with just a smidgeon of soap, or rather hand cream, which I also find fairly typical. With water: mosses, ferns and cedarwood. Mouth (neat): that wonderful ‘old wood’ note shows up straight away, utterly delightful as it’s not drying in the slightest, think thin mints, so dark chocolate and mint in unison. A few drops of pine bud liqueur round off the profile. Meanwhile, the mango whispers faintly in the distance. With water: I must admit I feared the water might bring out more tannin, but no such thing occurred. Green tea, mint, chocolate, coffee and pine resin instead. Finish: rather long, on similar notes, but guess who pops their head round the door again? Mango jam. Comments: well, it’s a draw, which is quite an achievement on both sides, indeed.
SGP:461 - 91 points. |
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