Ailsa Bay The Duchess 13 Years Old Paddy's Milestone Cask 801396 Oloroso Matured 54.4% 2011

Distillery	Undisclosed Ailsa Bay (Dalrymple)
Bottler	The Duchess
Serie	GAME & WILDLIFE SERIES
Bottled for
Distilled date	07.09.2011
Bottling date	06.11.2024
Country	Scotland
Region	Lowlands
Age	13
Cask Type	Oloroso Hogshead Matured
Cask Number	801396
Alcohol %	54.4%
Volume	0,70
Condition	Perfect
Label	Perfect
Stock	69

Professional reviews

BOW (89)

This bottle was produced at Ailsa Bay Distillery, and has previously been marketed as Dalrymple. Since William Grant & Sons does not permit independent bottlings to be released under these brand names, we have named this release Paddy’s Milestone as a geographical reference.

Although it also has to be labelled as a blend, we can assure you that it is in fact a tea-spooned single malt. We wish you a wonderful time exploring this rare Lowland whisky.

Cheers!

Words of Whisky (87)

Slightly oak-forward at times, but just steering clear of the edge.
Nose
Hints of damp oak, nutty Oloroso and a sliver of mocha. Not exactly what I expected when I first saw this whisky’s providence, but it certainly fits the sherry cask profile. Touches of tobacco, dark chocolate and even some autumnal aromas. A fair bit of charred oak too.
Taste
The cask has somewhat taken over. Notes of cigar boxes, sandalwood and coffee grounds, as well as some walnuts, chocolate pralines and cured meats. There’s a subtle dryness, and the charred oak makes an encore as well. There might be some bung cloth too.
Finish
Medium length. The chocolate lingers for a while. Quite decadently, I might add, before there’s a gentle herbaceous note added to the fray.

Malt Fascination (88)

The first one is a 13 year old Ailsa Bay. It’s a follow up to the one from almost three years ago, which I thoroughly enjoyed and got myself two bottles of. This time around the whisky comes from an Oloroso sherry cask, instead of the very light bourbon cask it came from in 2022.

Nowadays there are more Lowlands distilleries than there have been for quite some time, but you don’t get to see many releases from them, given a few exceptions. Of course there’s the Auchentoshans, Bladnochs and Glenkinchies. Those have been around for ages. Apart from that, since Fife is a Lowlands area as well there is Lindores Abbey and Kingsbarns, and some distilleries that are not yet releasing bottles, or the bottles that are out there are rare. Much like this one, because how often do you see an Ailsa Bay?

Anyway, let’s do tasting notes, and find out if this one is as true to the regional style as the earlier one!

Sniff:
A very light and straw forward character with a good dollop of sherry on top. Not overpowering, regarding the sherry. A hint of coffee and almond flour. Barley and something floral too. Spring meadows and such.

Sip:
The palate is dry and quite fierce. Barley, straw, some pepper seeds. Oak with a bit of wood spices and fruit stones (dates, cherries, plums). The dryness does not dissipate at all, there’s a bit of a sawdust like flavor coming up.

Swallow:
The finish is far less dry and shows more dried fruits and steeped grains. Warming with a hint of sticky toffee pudding. After the sherry wanes slightly, there are notes of dried flowers and straw popping up again.

So, yes, it’s true to what you hope it to be. There definitely are some floral notes and the sherry is not overpowering the whisky. A rather well integrated combination of spirit and cask. And with this clocking in at € 79, I might be tempted to go for a bottle.