The Dalmore 12 year old (40%)

The Dalmore distillery has been around for over 180 years, sat on the shores of the Cromarty Firth in the northern Highlands since 1839. Whisky sage Dave Broom, in his World Atlas of Whisky, describes its distillation regime as seeming to have been “born out of some manic episode on the part of the founder,” with the distillery’s two stillhouses containing stills of differing sizes but similar, somewhat eccentric design. Whatever the reason for its existence, the combination works.

Much as has traditionally been the case with the Macallan, the whiskies of Dalmore are to a sizable degree defined by the sherry barrels in which they are finished, something the company emphasizes in trumpeting its long-standing partnership with the Gonzalez Byass sherry house, from whence it secures its barrels. Broom maintains that it takes until the 15 year old declaration for this aspect to properly manifest itself, but I’m not sure I agree.

Of the core Dalmore brands available to Canadians, the most common are the 12 year old, finished in Oloroso sherry casks, the Port Wood Reserve, finished, of course, in Port pipes, and the Cigar malt Reserve, finished in a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon barriques and Matusalem Oloroso sherry casks. Of the three, my pick for the most classically Dalmore is the 12 year old.

A rich copper-amber in colour, the 12 year old exudes Terry’s Chocolate Orange on the nose, with a robust combination of 70% cocoa content chocolate mixing with naval orange and tangerine notes, backed by sultana raisin, toasted walnut, and soft notes of cinnamon and nutmeg from the sherry barrels. On the palate, it arrives with a combination of milk and dark chocolate, grows more citrusy with orange zest and a bit of juice, adds ample vanilla and some balance nuttiness, then concludes with a lengthy, fruity-spicy finish.

I have enjoyed this more than once with a meal, medium-rare leg of lamb being a wonderful companion, but am also more than content to settle down with a dram at the end of the night.  

93 ($113 - $115)