DYC Doble Roble Spanish Whisky Review

By Emma Briones

Rating: C

In 2017, Spanish distillery DYC made a move to show they can produce good quality whisky. They did so with a new range of limited editions: Maestros Destiladores. They began by releasing a 12 and a 15 year old whisky (building on their existing 10 year old single malt releases), they have just launched DYC Doble Roble.

This new whisky was born, according to the distillery, to offer a high-quality product that is also respectful of the environment. So they have been inspired by the barrels to create this new expression. They have recycled the barrel oak to produce the bottle cap of DYC Doble Roble. And to highlight all this commitment, they’ve promised to reforest 1.000 oak trees.

DYC Doble Roble has a double aging process in “selected oak barrels” (hence the name, which means “double oak”) – though the distillery doesn’t specify which kind of barrels. After aging for 8 years, it is bottled at 40% ABV. Only 12.000 bottles are available, all individually numbered.

The Whisky
Old gold on the glass, on the nose, it is light with intense toasted oak and vanilla notes. There are some fruity aromas, mostly baked apples and a bit of banana. Finally, sweet caramel with a citrus point.

The palate is light, flat, and spicy. You can find some sweet vanilla and caramel notes, followed by bananas and pears in syrup. The “double oak” is quite present in this DYC. There are some roasted coffee notes and a bit of ginger and nuts. The finish is lengthy and spicy, with toasted oak notes.

I’m usually a strong advocate for DYC, and Spanish whisky generally. When DYC started this Maestros Destiladores collection, I fell in love with its 12 year old, and was quite excited to see what would come next. The 15 year old wasn’t as good, though it worked well enough. But with DYC Doble Roble, I feel like they just didn’t try. It is light and spicy and lacks the complexity of both the 12 and the 15 year olds. It serves as a summery drink for those afternoons when you want something that isn’t quite demanding.

The Price
It is priced at €29,90, quite expensive as in Spain, where we can find better whiskies for the same price.