If you’ve been to a duty free shop, I am willing to bet you’ve seen a bottle of Dalmore. The grandiose stag on their label always seems to stick out at the shop. Fantastic branding! The Dalmore distillery is in the highlands a bit north of Inverness but I feel like a lot of people think it is a Speyside whisky. Technically it is not. It’s owned by Whyte and Mackay and often championed by their master blender Richard Pattinson. The common expressions that you will see around are the 12, 15, 18, and Cigar Malt. I seem to see these in most shops. Well let’s get to the whisky!

Distillery: Dalmore Distillery

Age: 15 Years Old

Cask: Matusalem, apostoles and amoroso sherry casks

ABV: 40%

Price: £51.37

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TheMadVatter

Nose

Bright fruitiness and coca cola. Poached pears, grape candies and soda. Reminds me of an old fashioned soda shop. Wisp of smoke.

Taste

Gentle but still very sweet. Slight hint of cigar ashes. Bubbly and tingly like coca cola candies. Bitterness in the background like herbal medicine.

Finish

Cloying and long lasting. Seems to cling to the palate. A sweet Syrup and vinyl taste. A medicinal bitterness.

Rating

6.5

Afterthoughts

A decent dram. Not overly complex but has all the typical sherry whisky notes. Strangely not that smooth. Has a bit of this tingly medicine bitterness. Not particularly distinct. At Water of Life Society tasting where I had this last, it was quite divided. I think this one suits a particular palate or a particular mood. A lot people voted this the best dram of the tasting. For me the strange harshness to it brought it down to a 6.5 from 7. But I think perhaps on another day this would get a 7 or 7.5 depending on what else I am drinking. If you are a sherried whisky freak then you’ll probably like this. It’s a tad on the expensive side right now but then again almost everything is.