The Dalmore: whisky steeped in heritage
Yes, finally, the first Dalmore expressions on this whisky blog! If you follow whisky like I do, chances are that you are also a member of the Facebook group called Whisky Memes. Dalmore (together with Jura) is one of those brands that people like to represent as the absolute bottom of what is out there. Obviously, this is all nonsense. The Dalmore has always been a single malt whisky that positioned itself at the high end of the spectrum. I remember when they put out extremely old, long matured whiskies, and putting a price tag on it that made your mind shut down. Nowadays, these prices do not surprise as much anymore.
I always kind of liked Dalmore, maybe because I managed to visit it a few times. The first time was in 2007 on a trip down from Wick on our way to Inverness. We stopped at the distillery and took the tour. It was all sweet and quaint, not unlike an experience we had at Ben Nevis, that seemed to aim at a more mature crowd. Whisky tourism in its infancy. We watch a dull video, but then we moved on and got to see this amazing distillery, with these fantastic copper coated stills, that are pretty much unique in the industry. Because it was a quiet day, we learned some news too, that Dalmore was experimenting with chocolate malt. We went home with a nice Dalmore Black Isle bottling, which we emptied quickly.
A few years later, in 2011, I was doing all kinds of whisky visits with a few friends of mine. We mostly concentrated on Speyside, but on our way to Brora we dropped by at The Dalmore. Here we found Stuart Robertson in charge, who we already knew from his previous tenure as manager at the Springbank Distillery. He welcomed us in his office and had a nice chat, where we also tasted a sample of a weird experiment. I am breaking my head over what it was, maybe a peated Dalmore or a quadruple distilled version. In any case, the experiment was deemed a failure, so we tasted something unique indeed. Then we took another walk around the distillery, where they had just done some maintenance on the stills. There, they found some stills had some original copper on the neck from 100 years ago or somewhere near that age. Heritage in abundance.
My most recent experience with Dalmore was at the hospitality of my father-in-law. It was the first time he invited me to his house after I started dating his daughter, a Ukrainian princess. This was around 6 years ago. He lives in a house that only can be described as a palace. As a frequent traveller, he picked up several Dalmore expressions, called Dominium, Luceo and Regalis. We tasted the lot of them, having brought the King Alexander III expression for him too from the airport. We got nice and drunk, and I took my chance to ask permission to marry his daughter. There you go, whisky always helps. Much better to cherish the happy memories than to see the atrocities that hit Ukraine on a daily basis.
Dalmore 2001, 11 years old, bottled at 52,1 % abv by Creative Whisky Company
First things first: This Dalmore was made on Labor Day 2001 and received a finish on Virgin European Oak. Cask # 6984. Bottled in the Exclusive Casks series with the beautiful silver shield.
Upon Sipping: Oh my, warm apfelstrudel with lots and lots of vanilla cream on top of it, as God intended it. It slowly fades away, overtaken by saw dust. The virgin oak is load here! Marshmallow as big as the monster in Ghostbusters. This is really something! I am reminded of being invited to a Thanksgiving Dinner at friends who used to live in the USA. Yams on the table here. Did these smells trigger something with bottler David Stirk? I could imagine. Then a sip, because after all there is little Dalmore to be found in this loud cask. The answer remains the same: this bottling means to emphasize the cask, and it does so from beginning to end. So, lots of wood and vanilla on the tongue, and a rather hot and alcoholic finish. The big redeeming factor here is the creamy feeling on the palate, that seems to be the Dalmore DNA (see next note). With water, more sugar, but the vanilla stays strong.
Word to the Wise: Kind of a challenge to drink a virgin oak matured single malt so pure, but this Dalmore passed the test. Interesting experience, but in the end I think virgin oak matured whisky works best in an ensemble of multiply styles of casks. This Dalmore was finished in virgin oak, but is almost feels as if it was a full run in the wood. A bit over the top, but lots of fun to be had here.
Score: 82 points.
Dalmore 2005, 17 years old, bottled at 49,3 % abv
First things first: Bottled in the Vintage Collection by Dalmore, on 3 July 2023. The whisky matured in a combination of bourbon, sherry and PX casks. Let’s see of all these parts play nice together.
Upon Sipping: Surprisingly light in colour, considering the sherry casks used for this vintage release. The nose seems to be a bit all over the place, with notes of warm bread, smoky wood and milk chocolate. One could say complex, but it suffers a bit from a lack of integration. Some spices do appear and take the role of the binding factor. The taste pleases me more. Lots of creamy sweetness and soft praline chocolate. The sherry casks and bourbon influences keep on battling it out on the playground, with vanilla overdose clashing with nutty, hazelnut flavours. If not totally satisfied, then at least I am entertained. After repeated sniffing, some notes of gunpowder appear. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I do not mind it today. Adding a touch of water makes the whole even more creamy, oily even, and the mouthfeel is just silk. Yes, it bulks up and becomes more mature. Finally some highland character after a rather soft start. The finish has an hard edge to it, slightly rough and unpolished, adding some danger to the drinking experience.
Word to the Wise: Not your typical easy drinking dram, and we have to applaud The Dalmore for it. We are drinking a very traditional single malt Scotch here, emphasizing the most regular casks used, and making something interesting from it. Very entertaining, I say again.
Score: 84 points.