Dallas Dhu 10 (Gordon & MacPhail)

A rare pour that @LeeEvolved provided for our virtual tour of Scotland via actual scotch. Lee’s review provides a good overview of the distillery. A good pour to start a much needed three day weekend. A sit back on the couch, a crack of the sample into the Glencairn... A vibrant amber color which is enticing. Immediate notes of rich sherry. Walnuts, raisins and figs. There is a wooden quality that lingers in the depths. More fruits seek their way through. Syrupy cherries, like Luxardo cherries, and apples. Sweetness is all about but not over saturated. Dark brown sugar and dark chocolate which is tempered by a pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Considering the rich nose, the palate is quite thin in feel, lighter than water. An initial sweetness of caramel or butterscotch. The sweetness quickly fades and turns to baking spices: cinnamon and nutmeg. Drying oak begin to root as it fades into the finish. The palate remains dry and oaken with vanilla bean and an earthy quality. The dryness ultimately wins out and remains for a fair length. The nose so promising and quite drawing, one of the better nosed whiskies, unfortunately is unable to fulfill itself in any embodiment. There is no weight or depth which makes this somewhat disappointing, in that you want more from it than it can actually deliver. What flavors are discernible are pleasing and enjoyable. Thanks @LeeEvolved for the experience. [84/100][Tasted: 2/15/19]

Following in the footsteps of @Generously_Paul and @LeeEvolved , I decided to give this a go tonight. This is a pour courtesy of @LeeEvolved , who went above and beyond in supplying this sample considering the rarity and price tag. I firmly believe there’s a reason why some of these distilleries closed. During a downturn, they probably couldn’t compete for whatever reasons (flavor profile, price, supply chain issues, etc) with other players. During boom times, even lousy ones survive...but during bust, the weeding out process begins. We had three closed distilleries so far on our tour...Pittyvaich, Imperial, and now this. Pittyvaich was just ‘meh’. Haven’t had Imperial yet. This one here...well...let’s see. Nose seems to be that of old books in a dusty library. In a good way. Like something ancient and elegant. That profile though doesn’t carry through the taste. Taste is...strange. Not sure how to place it...plastic-y, vegetal, sulphur-y. Not a fan. Normally, I’d give this a 2 star—-I liked the aroma, palette was a dismal failure. But boosting it up a notch to 3 because of the rarity. It’s one of those that’s simply not easy to come by without forking over some significant green. Thanks Lee for this!

Stop number 100 on the SDT is Dallas Dhu. I figured I would mark the 100th stop with a (semi) closed distillery. As Lee stated, they only produce whisky for purchase at the end of their tours. This Highland single malt comes from the independent bottlers at Gordon and MacPhail, and based on the age and time the distillery closed, it’s been sitting around a good long while. Bottled at 40% ABV and is most likely natural color of amber and certainly is chill filtered being only 40%. Initially the nose hits you with lovely sherry notes, but soon it becomes apparent that sulphur is the predominant character here. Not so much fruity as it is sweet. Lots of butterscotch and toffee, vanilla and a little chocolate. A bit nutty, like bitter walnuts and some light oak. Not much after that. The palate is strange. Sherry yes, but lots of sulphur as well and a cough syrup taste. Intense vanilla and butterscotch, aromatic. Quite funky and odd. Slightly bitter walnuts. Not very complex, but the flavors that are present are strong. Medium bodied, very oily and mouth coating. The finish is medium long with sulphur, vanilla and it remains bitter. The nose was so promising at first with rich sherry notes, but it quickly devolved into a bitter sulphuric mess. No real complexity and nowhere near with the money. The price however is absolutely a reflection of the rarity of a closed distillery. The nose is the only thing that this guy has going for it, and it’s not even all that great. A 2.75 and thank to @LeeEvolved for the sample. Cheers

It’s time for a special malt that I included for our distillery sampling team: Dallas Dhu 10. The Dallas Dhu distillery originally opened in 1899 and has been closed since 1983. The actual distillery is still in place, with working equipment, and functions as a museum. They have one operating still that produces about 5,600 liters annually- which I believe only supplies whisky for museum visitors to sample after their tour. Dallas Dhu translates as “black water valley”. This independent bottle was offered by Gordon & MacPhail and due to scarcity cost an astounding $290. It’s definitely not worth that price, but you’ve gotta pay for a piece of history like this, especially these days. Onto the tasting notes: visually it’s dark gold in the Glencairn. Thin, quick-running legs leave behind large droplets of water behind on the rim. This is primarily due to it being bottled at the bare minimum 40% ABV. The nose is heavy on the butterscotch. It’s very candied and sweet with notes of fresh oak and youthful spirit- which is kind of amazing considered this has remained in this twist-off capped bottle that had to be filled back in the early 1990’s. There’s some faint pepper notes if you let it sit out awhile. The palate is very weak- more butterscotch and sweet vanilla. It’s very, very watery with absolutely no heat. The mouthfeel is oily and candied. The finish is also weak and somewhat short, but oily. The candy notes linger on and, while it doesn’t ruin anything, it also doesn’t allow any complexity. But, then again, who expects complexity from a 10 year old, ghosted distillery. If it had more of a profile to draw from it probably wouldn’t have closed in the first place. Lol. Overall, it’s cool to taste a piece of history, but this isn’t a dram to seek out or pay large sums of money for. I was glad I could add it for the group as we wind down our tasting tour, though. 2.5 stars for that. Enjoy this one fellas, we’ll never get it again. Cheers.