Dailuaine 12 Year Old - James MacArthur - Fine Malt Selection Miniature

Founded in 1852 and expanded to its current six stills as early as 1960, Dailuaine is a large but relatively obscure Speyside distillery, one of many in owner Diageo’s portfolio, which it joined in 1925. Dailuaine bears the proud distinction of being the first distillery in Scotland to have had Charles Cree Doig’s famous pagoda roof on its kilns, although sadly this historic structure was destroyed by fire in 1917.

Dailuaine can make over 5m litres of spirit per annum, but the importance of its whisky to Diageo’s blends means that its official bottling history is rather scanty. Dailuaine 16-year-old Flora & Fauna was introduced in 1991 and was followed by a Rare Malts Edition and a superb Flora & Fauna Cask Strength bottling in 1996-7, before Dailuaine finally got its own Diageo Special Release in 2015. Thankfully, independent Dailuaines first appeared around the end of the 1970s and are now abundant.

James MacArthur & Co Ltd was an independent bottler of single malt and grain whiskies founded in 1982 by the Winning family. The company kept an exceptionally low profile but its James MacArthur’s Old Masters and James MacArthur’s Fine Malts ranges, while unprolific, were always outstanding drams. James MacArthur’s whiskies were released at cask strength or 45-46% and were always from traditional bourbon or sherry casks. 

James MacArthur’s simple, utilitarian labels were light on detail, often with just a distillery name and age statement rather than any distillation or bottling dates. The company’s most legendary whiskies are a pair of 12-year-old Port Ellens and half a dozen Caol Ilas bottled in the 1980s, all of which are of extraordinary quality and have subsequently fetched enormous prices at auction. Sadly, with the Winnings long past retirement age, James MacArthur & Co was dissolved early in 2022.