A few cold symptoms meant I had to leave the advent calendar for a day to give this Dalmore 15 a fair shot. After a rubbish day at work though I thought I deserved a treat. So monday night was a two drammer.
The Distillery
Dalmore distillery is found in Alness, 20 miles north of Inverness. It is owned by White & Mackay and the master distiller is Richard Paterson. A man who needs no introduction and is well known as quite a force of nature!
The distillery was founded in 1839 by a Mr Alexander Matheson who sold it on 28 years later. Today, Dalmore has 4 sets of stills producing 4.2 million litres of alcohol a year. The house style is of a fruity, sherried whisky positioned very much as a premium product. Under the leadership of Richard Paterson it also has a reputation for releasing a lot of expressions using many unusual cask finishes or “cask hopping”. More often than not, these special releases also come complete with quite an astronomical price tag.
The Dram
Dalmore 15 is presented at 40% ABV and probably contains E150A and also probably chill-filtered. With all that considered there is no need to describe the colour since I suspect it is fake anyway. In standard Dalmore fashion this expression has been in Atusalem, Apostoles and Amoroso Sherry casks and can be found for £54.88 here.
Tasting Notes
Nose – Orange Liquor and you know actually like a glass of sherry. Given the strength I am surprised how strong the smell is. It really billows out the glass
Palate – more oranges, cinnamon and winter spices. Just think a white Christmas night
Finish – Long finish of orange, parma violet sweets and spices.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed this dram. The nose really makes it for me. There is so much going on I would be happy to turn it into an air freshener if I am honest. The palate and finish did not give me much more than the nose though. I wish I knew what an expression like this was like at 46% and unchill-filtered.
Malted 