I had a nice dram of The Dalmore 12 Year out tonight in Silver Spring, Maryland. I texted myself the notes so I could post the review tonight, while the impression was still fresh in my mind.
Some brief background: The Dalmore is a highland distillery north of Inverness, and dates back to 1839. The Wikipedia page says that it was founded by a man who made his money in the illegal opium trade. Now THAT is a story more interesting than most you read, and worth a good New Yorker article or two. Someone get on that.
Most people know The Dalmore from the giant stag's head that is featured on the current run of packaging - it's obvious and distinctive in any bar, which is smart marketing. It's one of those whiskies that has a very wide range of offerings, from this "young" 12 Year to the really old (50! Older, possibly!) bottles that cost thousands. Let's see how a dozen years spent half in bourbon and half in sherry casks turns out...
Nose: Spicy - obvious cinnamon, subtle cloves. Honey and apples and lots of both. The cinnamon apple combination, if you can collect them in one sniff, is quite pleasant. I was surprised I didn't pick up more sherry on the nose.
Mouthfeel: Medium. Very medium.
Palate: More apple with a small side of sherry raisins. Think apple sauce with a handful of wine-soaked raisins thrown on top. The sherry elements come and go too quickly - I assume this is a side effect of the youth. A definite herbal, grassy note that I also wanted to stay longer but it ducked out. Finally, honey again, with a little squirt of vanilla extract also. Maybe a little nutty too. The way the sweetness dries out into the wood finish is not graceful - it sort of just makes a bum rush for dryness with too few flavor gradients.
Finish: Oak tannins and the aforementioned dryness. Some have claimed a sour or bitter note on the back end, but I just got wood. Like licking a tree stump. The wood has vanillin overtones.
Verdict: Eh. I didn't love this, it didn't bring anything unusual or special to the table - it was a very typical Highland Scotch, but with the ingredients arrayed in a formation I wasn't particularly drawn to. I'm not sure if I would go so far as to call it imbalanced, but it didn't excel in any one thing. Not Recommended, I think. I'll try the older variants - 15 Year and 18 Year are pretty easily found - and see what happens there.
Link to the website for the Dalmore 12: https://www.thedalmore.com/the-distillery/our-collection/the-12.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment