Dailuaine 22 Year (1973), Rare Malts Selection
Whisky: Dailuaine 22 Year (1973), Rare Malts Selection
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside
ABV: 60.9%
Cask: Oak
Age: 22 Years (Distilled 1973, Bottled 1996)
Nose: Green and vegetal with a garden sweetness and subtle mustard leaf spice; crispy salted lemon rind at times, mellow earth and wood with mulch and potting soil; tomato leaf, pepper, and more subtle notions of parma ham and melon rind.
Palate: Medium-bodied and oily, bursting with sweet guava and quince, vegetable garden notions of cucumber and mustard leaf; honey comb, woody mulch, and more subdued earth; white pepper and and a gentle meatiness toward the end.
Finish: Long and lingering with pepper, subtle fruit, and mellow earthiness.
Score: 9 (91)
Mental Image: Garden Gnome Harvest Celebration
Narrative & Notes: Green— it is not easy being green, Kermit tells us— this malt was loaded with delightfully musty green flavors and crisp, salty citrus. Everything felt fresh and somehow rooted in a vegetable garden with a crisp sweetness behind spicy mustard leaf, potting soil, and woody mulch. Tangy tomato leaves came to mind with pepper and a meatiness that grew with time as hints of melon rind lurked in the background. I could go on, but that was just the aroma, and I do not even think I relayed the experience all that cohesively.
The palate was much the same, though more distinct, vivid fruits came through at first. Nearly everything was subtle, with distinct layers of flavor—almost like a mille-feuille cake—building into something greater than the sum of its parts. The mouthfeel was lovely, with a gentle syrupy-oily quality that transitioned toward a tingling white pepper at the end.
Overall, a special pour to mark a special occasion— it lived up to the hype, and I wish I could go back in time to source more of these 1970s Dailuaine because they are such a treat and so unusual.
