Dunes An Oir 1996 Review

“Bottled Oak”

Country: Scotland 

Region: Speyside

Brand: Dunes An Oir - Caperdonich 1996 (Malts of Scotland - Van Zuylen)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 17 Years

ABV: 58.6 %

Colour: Dark Gold

Nose: Mature and quite Oaky. The Alcohol is very strong so avoid smelling in the centre of the glass. I find Bourbon, Vanilla, Chocolate Bonbons filled with Cherry Liqueur, Dried Fruit, Nuts, Orange, Black Currants, Brown Sugar, Malt, Nutmeg, Cardamom and Cinnamon. The Nose is similar to a mature Bourbon. However I find the Oak a bit too dominant.

Palate: Very strong Delivery on account of the high ABV. This seems to beg for a bit of Water. I find Charred Oak, Dusty Roads, Dried Herbs, Licorice, Strong Black Tea, Orange, Nutmeg and Pepper. 

Finish: Quite Long and Spicy with Oak, Walnuts, Nutmeg, Pepper, Dried Herbs, Bitter Orange, Licorice and Dark Chocolate.  

I added a teaspoon of Water and the Alcohol backs off naturally. On the Nose I find more Dark Red Fruit tones and some Menthol. Palate and Finish do not improve with Water. I find some extra Licorice and Cardamom on the Palate. It is of course much easier to drink the Dunes An Oir this way. 

Rating: 82.5  

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5 

General Remarks: This Dunes An Oir (Gaelick for Dunes of Gold) was bottled at Cask Strength by Malts of Scotland for Van Zuylen, the Netherlands. The Spirit was distilled in March 1996 and bottled in June 2013. It matured in a Bourbon Hogshead with Cask # MoS 13025. This Single Malt is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. Only 276 bottles were commercialised at around 110 US Dollars a piece. The Dunes An Oir was distilled by Caperdonich. This distillery was built in Rothes in 1898 by the founders of the Glen Grant distillery. Initially named Glen Grant # 2, it closed after only 4 years and was not operational until 1965 when it was rebuilt by Glenlivet Distilleries and renamed Caperdonich. It was sold to Seagram in 1977 and subsequently to Pernod Ricard in 2001. Caperdonich was closed in 2002 and demolished in 2010.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good 

Conclusion: The Dunes An Oir 1996 is certainly not your every day kinda dram. In principal it comes with all the right features such as Single Cask, Non Chill-Filtration, Cask Strength, Natural Colour and a high ABV. But despite all this I believe that the 17 years in the apparent active Cask # MoS 13025 were too much for this delicate Caperdonich Spirit. Additionally I think that the ABV is actually a tad too high. As a result, the Dunes An Oir is a heavy handed Single Malt with lots of Oak and Dark Aromas and Flavours. Almost the Scottish version of a mature Bourbon but lacking the Sweet tones of the latter. Hardly the type of Spirit I would reach out for on a regular basis. Interesting tasting experiment though!

Jan van den Ende                                                            October 12, 2014