SMWS 41.60 Fun to chase

By Barry Bradford on February 10, 2015 • ( Leave a comment )

Dailuaine 25 Years Old 1988 41.60 Fun to chase (49.6%, SMWS, Refill Bourbon HH, 275 Bottles, 2014)

Speyside single malt scotch whisky
49.6% ABV, £98
Score: 84/100

What they say:

Cask No. 41.60

With its combination of exotic fruits (dragon-fruit, strawberry, orange sherbet) intense sweetness (candy floss, Skittles) and pleasant toasted oak, the nose was immediately appealing. With water we found it intriguing and enigmatic but fun to chase – tobacco, foamy bananas, vanilla, mango, coconut and flowers rewarded our efforts. The palate was sweetly succulent, velvety, perfumed and mouth-watering – Turkish Delight, watermelon, gooseberry, lemon and cherry drops with iced gingerbread and cinnamon adding to the sherbety tingles. Water made it juicily tropical (fruit cocktail, pineapple) but with perfumed lavender and a lovely subtle, spicy, woody depth. From the only working distillery at Carron.

Drinking tip: Whenever you feel the need for a tropical holiday – but can’t afford it.

Date Distilled: 28 September 1988 Colour: Light toffee or pale amber Age: 25 years Flavour : Sweet, fruity & mellow Cask Type: Refill ex-bourbon hogshead Whisky Region: Speyside Spey

What I say:

Continuing on my ‘SMWS Distillery Code bagging’ here is a 25 year old Dailuaine (SMWS distillery #41) thanks to Ben @ Ben’s Whisky Blog for organising this sample

Colour:

Full refractive gold (8/20), medium tears with light trails

Nose:

Sweet, fruity, cereal, peach, apricot, caramel, toffee, banana, malted barley, malted milk biscuits, sweetened shortcrust pastry

Taste:

Vanilla custard, wood polish, cleansing, polished oak, waxy and thin in mouthfeel, fudge, banana, barley malt and malted milk biscuits

Finish:

Medium, honey (lightly sweet) and toffee oak wood

Overall:

Considering this is 25 years old and from a distillery I usually favour (Dailuaine) this one seemed a little average to me. Yes there are some deep polished oaky wood notes from such a long time in the cask, and nothing is out of place in this dram, it had a distinctly easy-drinking feel or session dram quality. I had hoped for a little more, but nothing to complain about taste-wise