| |
Home
Thousands of tastings,
all the music,
all the rambligs
and all the fun
(hopefully!)
Whiskyfun.com
Guaranteed ad-free
copyright 2002-2017
|
 |
|
| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
| |
|
| |
| |
October 11, 2019 |
|
  |
It seems that Dalmore have become a little quieter recently. No more Macallany marketing stunts, no more ‘most expensive whisky in the world’, rather less ‘lifestyle’ stuff (lifestyle being an ugly word that reeks of the pre-hipster 1990s and of Donald T. if you ask me)… So back to whisky? Unless they’re currently very busy with China, which is possible. Having said that, we've just tried their latest 35, 40 and 45 and they were ecellent, expect those notes on WF soon. Anyway, we’ll only have some IBs today. First, our usual little aperitif… |
|
Dalmore 1996/2013 (46%, L’Esprit, cask #BH9092/RB58) 
Don’t the cask numbers suggest this was a finishing of some sort? I believe I tried a version at cask strength before. Not bad but a little harsh. Colour: straw. Nose: not very Dalmore, that is to say much grassier and yeastier, with notes of fresh bread and just a touch of banana. No oranges though. Mouth: indeed, it’s pretty harsh, grassy, a little bitter, and really not very Dalmorean. Over-infused green tea springs to mind. Finish: long and pretty bitter. Comments: I’m surprised this excellent little house in Britany bottled this extremely rustic drop that should have rather gone into one of Whyte & Mackay’s NAS blends, in my humble opinion.
SGP:261 - 72 points. |
|
Dalmore 16 yo 2001/2018 (48.9%, Cadenhead, Sherry Cask, 180 bottles) 
I believe this was a double maturation, with the last three years in a sherry hogshead. Colour: deep gold. Nose: starts like… a bourbon! Or am I dreaming? Or there, rather rye whisky. Vanilla, caraway, sloe, juniper, ginger… This is quite pleasant I have to say, just rather unusual. Some walnuts from the sherry as well, hiding in the shadows… Although it would tend to mellow down, getting rounder and cakier. Mouth: exactly the same feeling, this is really funny. Liquorice, lavender sweets, ginger cookies, caraway bread, buckwheat crèpes (galettes)… Rather some sour cherries this time on the sherry front. Finish: long and grassier, with a sourer and bitterer ending. A little spicy oak. Comments: an unusual drop, really likeable, but I’d have said it came from a new start-up distillery. Craft, naturally.
SGP:361 - 82 points. |
|
Dalmore 18 yo 2001/2019 (51.8%, Cadenhead, Sherry Cask, 246 bottles) 
Same kind of set-up, most certainly. Colour: dark gold. Nose: it’s a different combo, a little more on the distillate, more on the expected oranges and Jaffa cakes, and more importantly, more on malty pastries. The sherry’s also rounder, with a few raisins and notes of panettone. We’re much, much closer to the OBs here. With water: lovely brioches, orange blossom water, gâteau Provençal… Mouth (neat): a tad rougher than on the nose, but very good. Pretty close to the 16 yo, but sitting on the other side of the fence. I mean, it's more on marmalade, tobacco, earl grey, walnut cake, white pepper… All classic things that we’ll always enjoy. With water: impeccable sherry, gingerbread and mead, cakes, marmalade, roasted raisins, bread pudding… Finish: rather long, a tad leafier and grassier, in that sense closer to the 16 yo. Leather. Loses a few points here but it had gathered quite a lot of them before. Comments: I’d love to know about what they did differently with this one. An excellent drop, I think.
SGP:451 - 86 points. |
|
Dalmore 14 yo ‘Batch 3’ (51.3%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 811 bottles) 
With a submarine mine on the label, what should this suggest? Is it explosive? Coastal? Submersible? Highly dangerous? Colour: white wine. Nose: raw and perfect. I mean, it’s totally on barley and yeast at first, with growing notes of chocolate, blood oranges and just raw wool. Well-carved for sure, and right on the money as far as distillery markers are concerned. With water: more dough, yeast, grist, even wash… Mouth (neat): rather kind of mildly fantastic (?). Raw barley, oranges, croissants, warm brown toasts, then strong vegetables, Jerusalem artichokes, zucchinis, asparagus… This combo works extremely well if you ask me. With water: a superb distillate in its naked glory, with just a little wood and a fair amount of years. Tastes like if they had emptied a bakery and distilled the whole lot. Finish: medium, very bready. Haven’t I mentioned gâteau Provençal before? Comments: perfect spirit al natural. Granted, it’s not hugely complex yet, but this make in theses casks at 25, my my!
SGP:451 - 88 points. |
And now, kerosene! (hopefully not)… |
|
Dalmore 11 yo 2007/2018 (64.4%, Highland Laird, cask # 516965, 240 bottles)
Did you notice the strength here? Wondering if this is totally legal. Colour: white wine. Nose: grass, metal polish, Bacardi white. Improved ethanol, shall we say, but at such high strength, we weren’t really expecting anything Mozartian… With water: grass, bread dough and baker’s yeast, plus a little vanilla and maple syrup. Elementary malt whisky, good and simple. Mouth (neat): pretty nice! Malt, apples, corn syrup. With water: sugar, grass, barley liqueur. Does anyone produce white barley liqueur? Nots of oranges too, but those are really raw. Finish: long, bitter, difficult. Three litres of Kronenbourg. Calls for a good glass of water, I’m afraid. Comments: it had good moments, but globally, it’s just a brutal, rudimentary malt whisky. A bit in the style of the first one that we had, so not exactly essential.
SGP:261 - 70 points. |
It's not hard to understand why Cadenhead would have done some finishing on this kind of make, is it! |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
