Whisky Review: Dailuaine 8 Years Old 2007 Hepburn’s Choice

Category: Speyside single malt scotch whisky

Origin: Dailuaine Distillery

Bottling: Langside; Hepburn’s Choice

ABV: 46%

Cost: £42.83 from Master of Malt

What they say:

A Sherry-butt-matured single malt Scotch whisky from the Dailuaine distillery, aged for 8 years before Langside bottled it for their Hepburn’s Choice range. A release of 391 bottles.

Nose:

Mascarpone ice cream dotted with raisins and drizzled with honey.

Palate:

Plum, caramel, a hint of liquorice and grass. Maybe a little bit of currant bun…

Finish:

Quite juicy on the finish. Plenty of sweet, fruit notes last.

What I say:

Dramvent Calender Day 3

This December I am attempting to sample and review a whisky everyday for the 24 days of Advent in the run up to Christmas. My very basic criteria as I sorted through my masses of whisky and samples were these:

1. Single malt scotch only and should be (or have been) generally/easily available
2. Each day must be from a different distillery
3. Each day must be equivalent in age or older than the previous

This Dailuaine was distilled in 2007 and matured in a single sherry butt for 8 years before bottling at 46% ABV by Langside as part of their Hepburn’s Choice range. A range I have come to enjoy as for the most part it consists of young distillery led-character whiskies with just the right balance of cask maturation influence to help understand distillery characters and how they work with different cask types. This expression is like a baby version of the officially bottled, and deservedly much-respected Dailuaine Flora and Fauna 16 Year Old

Colour:

Mid gold with ruby tints (6/20), medium-large tears leave long tapered medium to fine legs

Nose:

Starts with a little florality which reminded me of lavender and soap bars, sweet honey and butterscotch fudge with hints of molasses, Muscovado and Demerara richness, hints of dried/red fruits

Taste:

A beautiful toffee sweetness and gentle warmth are pervaded by subtle floral notes, sugar syrup and molasses give way to dark caramelised and crunchy crème brulee topping, a little dried raisin and a hint of plum sauce mixed with some malted cereal barley, medium-full bodied.

Finish:

Quite short, but full of sweet and buttery tablet & creamy butterscotch fudge

Overall:

Fairly simple and straightforward, possessing a deep sweetness and structure to carry it, the cask influence just offers hints here and there of its ex-sherry provenance. A good serial drammer or early dram in a flight – perhaps one to set the palate before heavier sherried monsters attack it!

Score: 83/100

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