Dallas Dhu

[Longash4me]

This finally arrived yesterday and after an agonizing week of blind-siding and double talk from my boss, I was anxious to try this last night. Murray McDavid bottling, 29yo 1974 Sherry Cask, 46% abv, Jim McEwan master distiller. The bottle was huge, even though it was the standard 750ml. It stands above the other soldiers by a long shot. No idea why the bottle is so large. I will never be blessed with the ability to discribe tastes and flavors beyond good and bad. But I'll be damned if I didn't detect apricots or pears or something like a delicate fruit of some kind. Wonderful! The first have of the glass was taken sans water and although a little hot it was still emmense and terrific. The second half I dropped just a little water into the mix. This calmed the fire down considerably, no cloudiness at all, still the color of leather. It lost the fruit almost entirely though. The fruit flavor made the difference so I will not be adding water to this one again. The apricot only lasted a fleeting moment but it was unmistakeable and surprising. This one has never been rated very highly anywhere I've read but in my opinion this was an extraordinary scotch with a ton of class. I only have a few Murray McDavid selections but all are very good; Lochside 1981 is awesome. There are a few choices available in IB's and I am gaining a real respect for MM. In the hiearchy of scotch expertise, I am like the guy with a shovel that walks behind the elephant. But I certainly would recommend this Dallas Dhu as a fine example of very good scotch.