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:
- Single malt scotch only and should be (or have been) generally/easily available
- Each day must be from a different distillery
- 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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