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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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June 2, 2026 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today indie Dallas Dhu
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What a joy it is to be able to compare two Dallas Dhus again, especially when the distillery — not functioning since 1983 — does not, after all, seem likely to reopen any time soon. I mean not merely “operational”, but truly with the equipment moving. Or “speaking/talking”, rather. You see what I mean…
Dallas Dhu was at the heart of the Roderick Dhu blend (advertising circa 1900)
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Dallas Dhu 26 yo (44.5%, Cadenhead, black dumpy, late 1980s) 
The owners mentioned on the label were Benmore Distilleries, who had joined DCL/SMD around the turn of the 1920s and 1930s. I rather suspect this is a Dallas Dhu from the early 1960s, very possibly a 1962 since CAD later released a 62/93 and a few others, although it could just as well be a distillate from the 1950s. In any case, this bottle still bears Cadenhead’s Aberdeen address. Colour: pale gold. Nose: we immediately find the slightly metallic profile of many of those black dumpies, followed by sorrel, cooked spinach, then green walnut liqueur and tobacco. Leather too. It really is ‘old’, we are now quite far removed from modern malts. Hints of Parma ham, Maggi and mint syrup, perhaps even Get 27. Mouth: dry, very earthy, very much on tobacco, old copper coins and triple sec left languishing at the back of the bar since the 1980s. It then becomes increasingly dry, while the green walnuts remain close at hand. Finish: long and dry, rather like, let us say, a very dry Madeira, then rescued by peppery orange zest in the aftertaste. Comments: tremendous charm in this bottle, although if you were to pour it for casual drinkers who care little for whisky history, and we could hardly blame them, I rather doubt they would truly take to it. We, however, find it all very… charming. It also improves greatly with aeration. Oh, and a message for our casual-drinker friends, Dallas Dhu is not a Texan whisky (how smart was that again, S.).
SGP:362 - 87 points.
PS I discovered a little later that a back label stated 1962/1989. I really should read labels and friends’ comments before tasting. Thank you, Henrik! |
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Dallas Dhu 50 yo 1971 (43.7%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice Heritage Collection, Refill American Hogshead, +/-2022-2026) 
G&M are great specialists of Dallas Dhu, having notably released another fairly recent 1971 50-year-old in their ‘Private Collection’, which we found absolutely flabbergasting (WF 92). It is not impossible, moreover, that the one currently in our glass is the very same juice. Colour: gold. Nose: Clynelish, come out of that bottle! Magnificent cooked and overripe fruits, joined by honey and beeswax. Then a few touches of furniture polish, zests, figs, orange blossom, little sultanas, candied mandarin… This is utterly beautiful. Mouth: magnificent freshness, minty and honeyed at first, then increasingly floral, then increasingly on cider and oranges. Right. In the background, a whole squadron of little herbs, circling around verbena and sweet woodruff. At no point do the 50 years make themselves felt, it is as lively as the sprightliest little roach. Finish: not tremendously long, and perhaps with a slight black tea side no doubt coming from the cask, yet that fruity and honeyed freshness remains miraculous. Comments: when the drinkability-to-age ratio is this high, you are inevitably entering a danger zone. What beauty, it merely lost a point in the finish. Indeed, we respect nothing.
SGP:651 - 92 points. |
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