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Dalmore
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Dalmore
distillery was founded in Alness, Ross-shire
(Northern Highlands) in 1839 by Alexander Matheson, but he
leased the distillery to the Sunderland family.
Alexander Matheson died in 1886 and the distillery was sold
to the MacKenzie family who had operated it for the last 19
years.
In
the early 1960's The MacKenzie brothers merged with Whyte &
Mackay to form Dalmore Whyte & Mackay Ltd, which later became
just Whyte & Mackay Distillers Ltd.
In
1990 W&M was purchased by American Brands. |
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It
seems that 'American Brands' was renamed JBB (Greater
Europe) in 1995, but the name seems to have reverted back to
Whyte & Mackay Distillers in 1996.
Anyway, JBB (Greater Europe) was bought by Kyndal Spirits in
2001 and definitely changed the name back to Whyte & Mackay at
that time.
Today,
Whyte & Mackay is owned by United Spirits, a company owned
by Vijay Mallya and has been since 2007. |
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Ages
(OB) |
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General whisky characteristics: Rich, dark fruits,
marzipan, orange, Christmas pudding |
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Richard who?
Here I am, sitting in a hotel meeting room overlooking
George Square in Glasgow and listening to some chap called
Richard Paterson,
Master Blender for Whyte & Mackay, telling me he'll kill me if I, or any of the
other 30 or so attendees of the Masterclass, should commit the
cardinal sin of dropping even a single cube of ice into my
whisky. Well, I am also a devout follower of the 'no ice'
faction, but I say old chap, isn't this just a tad strong?
He also claims responsibility for 'Marrying' .... |
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Did I say
marrying? The second time I met Richard he was performing a
marriage ceremony on his stand at a whisky festival!
Did I say jolly
good blends? This particular Masterclass included two
unbelievable examples; a 30y and a 40y Whyte & Mackay - truly
magical!
But back to the matter in hand; The star of the show here was a
Dalmore 40y and at Cask Strength!
This particular
whisky was a preview to a new 40y Dalmore which would be bottled
the following Spring, but at a reduced strength from this CS
version. We were indeed a lucky minority of people to sample
this whisky in all its true magnificence before bottling.
The Result:
Currently unsurpassed in my experience. A
legend that is my No. 1 all time whisky.
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Dalmore, 40y,
Cask Strength
A cask sample and
not bottled at this particular strength.
I have voted this as No. 1 in my 'Top 10' Whiskies
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Nose:
My goodness, this has wood, some smoke, every dark fruit & berry
that I can think of plus a few more. It has rich sherry that one
would never find on a supermarket shelf or in most good wine
shops and, somewhere in there too, are hints of nuts, marzipan
and just a dash of orange.
Palate:
Smooth luxury beyond belief, everything promised by the nose (of
the whisky, not Richard!) rejoices on the palate in total
harmony, but I'm still going to add a couple of drops of water.
With
3 drops of water (No Richard, liquid not solid!):
This opens into an even more sublime experience which just keeps
on and on and on ........
Overall Impression:
Did I say magical
and long finish? This whisky etched its magnificence in my brain
and I am still enjoying the experience. |
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Dalmore,
40y,
40% ABV
(The bottled
version)
Typical cost of
this bottle;
Currently voted No. 7 in my 'Top 10'
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Colour: Rich, very dark sherry
Nose: Dark fruits (black
cherry, bramble - blackberry, raisins), slight citrus notes,
marzipan and a lingering hint of smoke
Palate: Smooth and
luxurious, even velvet with those dark fruits dancing on the
palate along with the marzipan, but other nuts like hazelnut and
walnut also join the party which longers long and doesn't want
to end.
Finish: Very long and slightly dry.
Overall impression:
Stunning, excellent dram which is incredibly deep and intense. |
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Picture the
scene; It was Sunday afternoon, 11th March 2007 and I had
just popped in to The Munich Whisky Festival to meet a few (whisky)
industry people and look in on a masterclass which interested me.
Meetings and masterclass finished, I decided to complete the
afternoon with a wander around the stands when I noticed
Richard at the Dalmore / Jura stand. He called me over and we
chatted generally about my living in Munich and also his life on
the road, or more accurately, the amount of time he spends in
the air flying between events.
Whilst we were chatting, an
unmarked bottle magically appeared in his hands and even more
magically, a very generous dram suddenly occupied my glass. Just
one nosing told me all I needed to know, rich, dark fruits,
marzipan, slight citrus elements, luxuriously old wood and even
a hint of smoke. This was something good and I think I knew
exactly what; About a year previously I had the absolute
privilege to sample a new Dalmore at 40y, but straight from the
cask at CS. This was something similar and yes, Richard
confirmed this was the 40y at the bottling strength of 40% ABV.
Delightful, thank you Richard for what are now two of my top 10
drams and well worthy of the accolade. Magical! |
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Dalmore,
1980's
12y,
40% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass. Classic Malt
Colour: Rich gold
Nose:
Creamy vanilla (custard), pancakes and even lightly toasted
crumpet (also known as pikelet).
Palate: There's rich
leafiness in the background with almond, oaty biscuit and a mild
suggestion of damson in the foreground.
Finish: Medium
Overall Impression:
Quite understated compared to some of today's sherry bombs but
still nice to drink.
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Dalmore,
12y,
40% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Nose:
Sweet malt with cocktail cherries in the
foreground being
joined
by a bitter nuttiness in the background.
Palate:
Smooth and creamy with a slowly developing dark fruit presence
which comprises bramble, blackcurrant and raisins, but fading to
a soft aftertaste of blackcurrant and butterscotch.
Overall Impression:
A good after
dinner dram, but
I know
that Dalmore ages well and this one has hints of all the right
attributes, but it is still a few years too young for me. Those
dark fruit flavours would develop into something extremely
special if left a few more years. |
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Dalmore,
12y,
Madeira,
59% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Nose: Floral, slightly
citrus and with aniseed.
Palate: Sweet and
initially quite powerful, but softer on second taste as it then
offers a flavour of rose petals.
With water: Softer and
very smooth with more petals and not so fiery.
Overall Impression: Too
imposing without water, but very good with a few drops.
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Dalmore,
15y,
40% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass. Classic Malt
Colour: Teak
Nose:
Immediate orange and dark chocolate followed by coffee beans and
then aged oak as the coffee and orange begin to fade.
Palate: Very smooth but
quite dry with wood and more of that dark chocolate which has
about 90% cocoa. This is followed by hints of oil of orange
and dry sherry which leads into the finish.
Finish: Long and dry as it's really a fine
extension to the palate.
Overall Impression: A
very nice whisky, I like it!
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Dalmore,
1973, Cabernet Sauvignon,
50.2% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle;
to
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Nose:
Dark fruits with brambles, black cherries, blackcurrant and
cedar.
Palate:
Christams Pudding! Dark fruits, liquorice, plums and marzipan.
Overall Impression:
Very smooth, rich and elegant with wine and dark fruits.
This was the 50% version but we were told it would be reduced to
45% for bottling.
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Constellation
Collection |
A
collection of 21 bottlings for Duty Free & Travel Retail |
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Dalmore,
1992, 19y,
Cask No.18, 53.8% ABV
Matured for 10
years in American white oak (Quercus Alba), first fill
Kentucky bourbon barrel, then transferred in 2002 into Port
Pipe (Quercus Robur) European oak for 9 years.
Typical cost of
this bottle;
(2,500) |
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Glass. Copita
Colour: Teak, dark amber
Nose:
Lots of traditional wax furniture polish and aged oak over red
wine and cherries. Also a light spiciness and suggestion of more
tropical fruit in the background.
Palate: Silky smooth and
quite unusually everything is initially concentrated solely on
the roof of the palate. This includes chocolate, nuts and more
light spiciness.
Finish: Long and silky.
Overall Impression: A very
interesting whisky with lots of fruitiness and spices, albeit in
a quite light way. Excellent, almost a "Great" but just
not quite.
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Dalmore,
1973, 38y,
Cask No.10,
48.1% ABV
Matured for
32
years in American white oak then transferred in 2005 into
a
French oak, Cabernet Sauvignon cask for 3 years and then in
2008 trransferred into small batch Kentucky bourbon barrel for
a further 3 years.
Typical cost of
this bottle;
(13,600) |
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Glass. Copita
Colour:
Rich amber
Nose:
Orange with a hint of lime zest followed by blackcurrant and a
suggestion of plums. With time in the glass this develops a
light nuttiness (mainly hazelnuts) alongside vanilla. Crθme
Brulee anyone?
Palate: Slightly dry but
creamy mouth-feel with lots of fruit and wine flavours. I'm
thinking red fruits here, maybe redcurrant, raspberry, cranberry
and faint cherry.
Finish: Long, rich and smooth.
Overall Impression:
Fine, red, very deep and intense. A slightly different Dalmore
profile in this one, but truly magnificent and a "Great"
in my book.
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Dalmore,
1969,
42y,
Cask No.14,
45.5% ABV
Matured for
36
years in American white oak (Quercus Alba), then transferred
in 2005 into a 30 year old Matusalem Oloroso sherry butt for 4
years and then in 2009 trransferred into a bourbon barrel for
a further 2 years.
Typical cost of
this bottle;
(18,500) |
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Glass. Copita
Colour:
Glowing rich amber
Nose:
Amazingly floral with early summertime Alpine meadow blossom
alongside damson, oil of orange, marzipan, mango and creamy
toffee.
Palate: This suggests a
rich fruit and nut cocktail with floral overtones from that wild
Alpine meadow.
Finish: Long, light and luxurious.
Overall Impression: Now
that's what I call "Great".
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Dalmore,
1964,
46y,
Cask No.09/693,
45.1% ABV
Matured for
44
years in American white oak then transferred in 2008
into an
Oloroso sherry butt for
3
years
(ish?).
Typical cost of
this bottle;
(25,000
I need more symbols here) |
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Glass. Copita
Colour:
Rich amber with glowing hints of chocolate
Nose:
Lots of flora with light lavendar and violets, then oil of
orange accompanied by exotic spices; cardamom, cumin, and a
suggestion of cloves.
Palate: Slightly dry but
filled with blood orange, chocolate, figs, cherries, freshly
ground coffee beans and a light spiciness.
Finish: Very long and floral with an
extra helping of chocolate.
Overall Impression: Just
when I thought it couldn't get any better after the '69 I find
even more depth and surprises in the '64. Truly magnificent, an
undoubted "Great".
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Specials &
Commemmoratives |
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Dalmore,
MacKenzie,
46% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass; Classic Malt
Colour; A cross between
walnut & teak with a hint of cherry
Nose:
Dark fruit (mainly raisins & plums) and rich orange
Palate: Smooth luxury
with that orange, but more like an oil of orange than acidic
citrus. Also the dark fruits are in abundance along with a hint
of marzipan.
Overall Impression: An
excellent Dalmore which has been chosen as a limited edition to
commemorate the Clan MacKenzie gathering in 2010 and also help
raise funds to renovate the family seat. This retails at around
the same price than the King Alexander III and for me is a
far superior dram. If you find one, buy it!
Whisky &
Chocolate: (Chocolate by Domori)
"Il Blend" 70% cacao. Light honey, caramel and a hint
of tobacco;
The combination of dark fruit in the whisky and honey, tobacco &
caramel of the chocolate just synergise on the palate to create
an overall entity which is creamy, luxurious and delightful on
the palate. Very good.
"Teyuna"
70% cacao. Bitter sweet, cashew nuts and a
touch of honey;
The
combination of the Teyuna's
cashew nuts merge with the dark fruits of the Dalmore Mackenzie to offer even more
'Christmas cake' feeling although the flavours in the Dalmore
are significantly stronger and dominate through the finish.
"Sur del
Lago" 70% cacao. Dark, rich, bitter sweet,
seaside promenade;
I am amazed that the slight bitterness of the Sur
del Lago actually enhances the dark fruit and sweetness of the
Dalmore Mackenzie to create an even more delightfully
rounded and fruity palate, although the flavours of the choclate
rather than the whisky dominate the finish. Excellent!
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Dalmore,
Castle Leod,
1995, 46% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass; Classic Malt
Colour;
Teak with more than a hint of copper
Nose:
Oak, wax polish, figs, black cherries, nuts
and bread dough, all in a 'stollen' kind of way.
Palate: A light
Christmas cake cocktail of fruit and nuts, with a heavier
tendency towards cherries and almonds, but also with a strong
suggestion of fruity red wine.
Finish: Long with creamy red wine.
Overall Impression: This
is quite heavily influenced by the Bordeaux (red wine) but it
really doesn't suffer for the fact as this is one red wine
finish that works well. I like it!
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Dalmore,
Cromartie,
1996, 45% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
Glass; Classic Malt
Colour;
Amber with a hint of bronze
Nose:
Very aromatic with light perfume, wood and a
suggestion of freshly polished brass. In fcat this very much
reminds me of an olde worlde country inn with lots of wood,
brass, copper and all held together with just a hint of luxury.
A little more time releases hints of raisins marinated in blood
orange and served with an apricot & banana coulis.
Palate: The palate
offers a little more aggression than the nose as the fruit and
wood are accompanied by a slightly penetrating pepperiness and
spiciness, along the lines of cloves.
Finish: Long with emphasis on the
cloves.
Overall Impression: A
truly fantastic nose is followed by a jolly good, but not
quite as stunning a palate. This is very rich and chewy and
extremely good, just not quite a "Great".
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Dalmore,
King
Alexander III,
40% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Nose:
New,
expensive young leather shoes.
Palate: New leather with
a very faint taste of slightly bitter raspberries.
Overall Impression: "Not
as good as I expected for a price of around 140". Dalmore are
capable of some great whiskies, unfortunately, this is not one
of them as it was rather disjointed in flavours and a little
thin and watery on the palate.
That
first tasting of King Alexander III was towards the end of a
long day at a whisky festival and as I said, Iwas rather
disappointed with it, certainly in relation to price and value.
Fortunately, in January 2011 I have just had the chance to try
it again, so are my thoughts any different now?
Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Rich amber
Nose: Initially leather and aged oak with just a dash of
quality perfume behind the ears, but very strange is a certain
aroma of steamed basmati rice which keeps trying to surface!
Palate: Is there such a thing as leather flavoured ice
cream? The leather from the nose translates into the palate
but in a very creamy way which reminds me of ice cream.
There's also a hint of cloves, figs and prunes and finally, a
very pleasant fruitiness which leads gently into the finish.
Finish: Long, slightly dry and slightly fruity too.
Overall Impression: Basmati rice on the nose? OK, it was
light and far from constant, but rather unusual. As for the
palate; this was very good any my overall experience was much
improved over last time.
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Glass; Classic Malt
Colour; Amber
Nose:
Slightly sour wood, blue cheese and slightly smoked (red) fruits.
Palate: Slightly watery
mouth-feel, liquorice root, lightly smoked creamy cheese and
some fresh wood.
Finish: Medium to long with dark fruit and light wood.
Overall Impression: I
find this a rather difficult whisky to assess, the mixture of
European and American oak appear to be fighting for dominance
and neither really wins, making it a slightly un-harmonious dram.
Of course the fault may lie with me, so I'll revisit this in a
day or two.
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Glass; Classic Malt
Colour;
Light amber with a hint of copper.
Nose:
Lovely hints of oil of orange over various
dark fruits including plums, figs and possibly currants, whilst
the background seems to comprise a slightly sweet maltiness.
Palate: Rich
and smooth with those dark fruits and oil of orange coming to
the fore, although that maltiness is also in evidence, albeit
slightly more bitter than it was on the nose. I then detect
something akin to cherries (possibly dark ones) leading into the
quite long and smooth finish
Finish: Long and smooth with some cherries.
Overall Impression:
This Dee
Dram has a certain after-dinner elegance which would certainly
befit a Regency Gentlemens' Club
lounge after a hard days fishing.
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Glass; Classic Malt
Colour;
Rich amber.
Nose:
Cloves, spicy wood and even a suggestion of
freshly-rising wholemeal bread dough with a lime twist right at
the end.
Palate: This doesn't
quite deliver the spiciness of the nose as it is very smooth and
lingering with dark fruits that clearly suggest red cherries and
a hint of something tropical; possibly papaya. Also in there is
a suggestion of marzipan or even walnut, in fact it has a
creaminess which could even be Tiramisu as hints of cocoa
develop into the quite long finish.
Finish: Long with hints of cocoa.
Overall Impression: The
Spey is also an after-dinner experience, but this time it's more
creamy dessert than Regency lounge and tales of the one that got
away.
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Glass; Classic Malt
Colour;
Rich dark gold.
Nose:
Rather subdued, faint even! After giving this
some minutes to develop I find a light rubberiness develops over
fresh herbs and a suggestion of aromatic wood. The rubberiness
fades to leave a rather pleasantly fresh & sweet nose.
Palate: Smooth
whilst at the same time slightly dry and spicy. It certainly has
cloves, albeit very light and plenty of herbal influences
alongside blood orange.
Finish: Very long, slightly dry
and quite repetitive with that orange influence.
Overall Impression: A
quite different Dalmore which is more 'hip flask on the river
bank'.
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Glass; Classic Malt
Colour;
Bright
dark gold bordering on sunny amber
Nose:
Quite light but also quite different with notes of toffee which
soon turn into those toasted coconut macaroons and then again
into aromatic wood and lemon groves on the banks of a large sea
or lake.
Palate: Initially quite
leafy but this soon develops into fruit with some of the citrus
of those lemon groves, but retaining the freshness of the
lakeside. There's also a toasted nuttiness which leads into the
long finish.
Finish: Long.
Overall Impression:
Another very different but also good dram here. Where the others
were relaxing after dinner or hip flask on the river bank, this
one is a main course of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, so to
speak.
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Dalmore,
Cigar Malt Reserve,
44% ABV
Second edition of
The Dalmore Cigar Malt
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass; Classic Malt
Colour;
Amber
Nose:
Oooh, there's lots happening here with an
initial slight smokiness, then it offers a kind of mistiness or
fogginess along with a slight leafiness, reminiscent of an
Englsih country lane on an Autumnal morning. The aromas enrichen
with time to include my favourite coffee cream chocolate.
Palate: Light oil of
orange alongide those coffee cream chocolates. Rich, smooth, nice.
Finish: Long and creamy with the suggestion of coffee beans
and chocolate.
Overall Impression: Very
inoffensive even to a non-smoker with lovely hints of orange,
coffee and chocolate and that very light smokiness on the
initial nose. Yes, I can see how a smoker may enjoy this with a
cigar or even pipe, but as a non-smoker I'll take it with some
rich dark chocolate please.
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Wemyss, Dalmore
sherry cask, 1990, 46%
Labelled as 'Spiced
figs'
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass:
Spiegelau
Colour:
Light copper / bronze
Nose: Nice nose! I
understand why it's described as spiced figs, but after a few
minutes in the glass I am finding a slightly more fruity
presence, almost rich apricot.
Palate: A tiny sip
immediately reminds me of Christmas cake (Uk-style!), but the
flavours remain directly on the front of the tongue and don't
spread fully across the palate. Swirling a second longer sip
around the palate for some seconds soon rectifies that issue!
There's definite marzipan in the quite long aftertaste.
2 drops of water: The
two drops really intensify the flavours on the palate and even
open the nose into something almost floral.
Overall Impression: Well
done Wemyss, another one I like!
I have tasted many Dalmore expressions and to be honest, if
given this one totally blind, Dalmore would be one of my three
guesses at the distillery. Again as I look at Susan's (of Wemyss)
description I see this was bottled in April 2009 which means
this is 18-19 years old and is really quite mature. I
certainly prefer this over the standard (younger OB) Dalmore
expressions.
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AD Rattray, Dalmore
11y, 59.1%
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Yellow (21ct) gold
Nose: Very light, fresh
and aromatic with wood, vanilla, light banana and peach.
Palate: Sweet fruit,
creamy mouth-feel with some white pepper and also something
quite floral.
Finish: Very long, floral and fruity with
tingly pepper.
Overall Impression: What
a different Dalmore. No heavy sherry influence here as this is
light, aromatic, floral and fresh. But it is good.
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Dalmore
1996,
14y, 55.5% ABV
Independent bottling
for Master of Malt
Typical cost of
this bottle;
"Dram-atics" live review |
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour: Extremely pale
Nose: Lots of malt and
wood, so much that I am reminded of standing in a distillery
warehouse with a saucer of raw malt grains to nose. There's also
a gentle spiritiness to this.
Palate:
Light and peppery with a hint of damson.
With
4 drops of water: The nose is still quite spirity whereas
the palate now has increased fruit with damson and cherry.
With
a further 4 drops of water: The nose is now extremely light
as it has faded significantly to be left with just gentle hints
of fruit, very gentle! The palate is also weakened, but still
has damson and cherry.
Finish: Long.
Overall Impression: What
a light and gentle Dalmore, certainly the lightest one I have
tried and thanks to the spiritiness it appears to be much
younger than its 14 years. I do like that damson and cherry.
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