Bought: Whisky Exchange, 18th March 2015
Ratings:
90/100 – Whisky Bible 2015
0/100 – Whiskybase (listed but no votes yet)
This year I’ve expanded my whisky collection to include as many examples from around the globe as I can find. I have a map of the world on my wall with pins in countries where I have sourced whisky. This bottle of DYC means I have ticked Spain off the list and stabbed Madrid with a red-topped pin.
The DYC, or Destilerías y Crianza business was founded in 1958 and produced the first Spanish whisky in 1963. DYC is currently a subsidiary of Beam Suntory, who are in turn a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, Japan. This is very typical in the whisky world, where various distilleries or blenders are owned by the same company, who in turn are owned by an even bigger corporation. DYC was very popular in Spain during the 1990s. The advertising slogan “people with no complex” was aimed at Spaniards not wanting to appear pretentious and high class by purchasing imported whisky.
The DYC 8-year-old (aged for 8 years in American oak casks) is the only Spanish whisky mentioned in the Whisky Bible. The author, Jim Murray, says “I really am a sucker for clean, cleverly constructed blends like this. Just so enjoyable!” 90/100 classifies this blend as “brilliant”. I don’t know if Jim Murray drank the DYC neat but, according to Wikipedia, it’s commonly mixed with Coke or Fanta.