This Dailuaine has spent 12 years in an ex-bourbon barrel and then was transferred into a 2nd fill heavily charred barrel for a two year finishing period.View on SMWS
Nose: Bananas as promised – overripe, freshly chopped and mushed into a moist cake. Warmed bread and toasted loaves are joined by green bell peppers, chopped hazelnuts and cashews (I guess we all taste different nuts), whilst brown sugars and sponge cake sit with tonka beans and a freshly-made café latte. The addition of water offers fruitier pleasures – guava and lemon peels sitting with pancakes and rolled pastry.
Taste: Orchard fruits now – apples and pears alongside biscuit crumbs and toffee sauce. Chilli pepper and white pepper peek through supported by gingerbread men, vanilla pods and golden syrup drizzled pancakes. Reduction offers griddled waffles, dusty chocolate, leather and earthiness as well as additional tartness from grapefruit and the return of the bananas.
Finish: Medium to long with brown bread and fading ginger spices.
I always consider Dailuaine to be a particularly versatile distillate and this 14 year old doesn’t diminish that belief. There’s a solid combination of defined fruits, well-balanced spices and bakery pleasures to be had here. Though, to my taste, the nose offers the more interest and excitement overall.