Things I Really Drink: Dalmore 14 year old PX Cask (USA Exclusive)

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a bottle of Dalmore open. Correction, I have a half bottle. Dr. Springbank and I went halfsies on the Dalmore 14 year old PX Cask which was released exclusively for US Americans.

The Whisky Advocate has the full scoop: "It is aged in bourbon barrels, then 40-60% of the liquid is transferred to Pedro Ximénez sherry casks from Gonzalez Byass in Jerez, Spain for approximately 2 years while the balance remains in bourbon barrels. The two parcels are then blended."

That sounds exactly like the Port Wood Reserve, but with PX casks and more age. And it's priced lower than the Port Wood Reserve because it doesn't have "Reserve" in its name.

Distillery: Dalmore

Region: Highlands (Northern)

Ownership: Emperador Distillers Inc (via White & Mackay)

Range: The Principal Collection

Age: minimum 14 years

Maturation: see notes above

Alcohol by Volume: 43.8%

Chillfiltered? ???

Colorant Added? ???

NOTES

Though vanilla appears early in the nose, none of the 12yo Sherry Select's outright barrel char shows up. Broken stones, rope, and a hint of mushrooms highlight the foreground, with florals in the midground, and grapes and cherries in the back. With time it picks up lemon juice, and the vanilla extract turns into almond extract.

The least sweet and woody of this week's Dalmore palates, this 14yo leads with figs, carob, and menthol. Hints of golden raisins and tart limes drift around sides.

It finishes with dried cranberries and dried cherries (minus all the sugar), and mix of tart and bitter citrus.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I like this more than the Kilkerran 8yo CS Port Cask that I also split with Dr. Springbank. Life is weird. There have been times I have chosen to drink this. I would buy my own bottle, were Dalmore 14 half its actual price. (See, I'm not entirely crazy.) The PX casketry feels more like a second maturation than a polish or a "finesse", the fruit elements work, and its conclusion sticks around for a while. My new Dalmore champion! How about that?

Availability - USA
Pricing - $90ish
Rating - 85

Dalmore 12 year old Sherry Cask Select

Dalmore 12 year old Sherry Cask Select has three more alcohol percentage points and "twice the Sherry influence as the traditional 12 Year Old." The latter quote is from the official site which makes no effort to explain it. Luckily, Mr. Theakson at Drinkhacker reveals that the Select is finished for two years in Oloroso and PX casks.

That a whisky company which prides itself on its fancy sherry casks uses them only to finish all of their standard releases (save some of the oldies) feels very contemporary. Of course, not all finishes are the same, but I'm hoping those two years offer up more than just lip pigmentation.

Yes, you're welcome.

pic pilfered from
Whiskybase

Distillery: Dalmore

Region: Highlands (Northern)
Ownership: Emperador Distillers Inc (via White & Mackay)

Range: The Principal Collection

Age: minimum 12 years
Maturation: Round 1: ten years in American oak. Round 2: two years in Oloroso and PX sherry casks
Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Chillfiltered? Yes
Colorant Added? Yes

(thank you to Dr. Springbank for this sample from his bottle!)

NOTES

Orange peel, yuzu juice, toasted almonds fill the nose's foreground, with barrel char, dark chocolate, and stones in the middle, and cherry lollipops in the back. It gets prettier and more floral with time in the glass.

The palate starts on tart cherries, then switches to sugar and tannins. Flower kiss candy appears after 20 minutes, as do small notes of bitterness and smoke.

Though it finishes sweetly, there are fewer tannins here. Blueberries and ginger, then a mellow bitterness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Like Monday's Port Wood, the nose wins, but here the palate survives the oak, then finishes nicely, resulting in a reliable anytime pour. I have no idea why Dalmore priced this lower than the Port Wood, but it still ain't cheap for a 43%abv 12 year old that wouldn't stand out in a crowd. Then again, is $80 the going rate for daily drinkers now? I hope not. Anyway, this is the best contemporary Dalmore I've tried. So far.

Availability - North America, Europe, and Asia
Pricing - $80ish
Rating - 83

Dalmore Port Wood Reserve (US release)

Here are the top three reasons that the name "Dalmore" has rarely been mentioned on this blog during the 11.5 years I've reviewed spirits here:

1. Their bottling plant suffers from an dangerously excessive water supply. I mean, that's why their whiskies are so aggressively diluted, right?
2. As single malt sales began warming up 10 years ago, Dalmore declared itself a luxury brand, boosting prices on its age-stated malts higher than any other brand, save (maybe) Macallan. Meanwhile Dalmore single malt offers nothing quality-wise that every other sherry cask whisky doesn't. So it was luxury-because-we-say-so, which is my least favorite thing next to......
3. Richard Paterson ostentatiously dumping whisky on the floor is the douchiest whisky thing ever recorded on video, which is saying something considering the competition. You gonna get down on the floor and clean that up yourself, Dick? Didn't think so.

Anyway, I have two good friends who like(d) Dalmore's single malt, and they graciously provided me with samples from their bottles. So I'm going to do one week of Dalmore reviews then avoid them forever, unless more bourbon cask indie releases appear.

I'll start off with Dalmore's standard Port Wood Reserve release. Ah yes, "Reserve". That's Scotch for "three to five years old". So of course it costs $100.

Pro: It's bottled at the very-un-Dalmore strength of 46.5%abv!

Started out a Pro but turned into a ???: Its contents started out in American oak, yay! Then half stayed in American oak, yay! The other half spent an unspecified amount of time in tawny port casks, and was then blended with the American oak portion.

Distillery: Dalmore

Region: Highlands (Northern)
Ownership: Emperador Distillers Inc (via White & Mackay)

Range: The Principal Collection

Age: ???
Maturation: Step 1 - Matured in American oak. Step 2 - Half re-casked into tawny port casks. Step 3 - Marry both halves together.
Alcohol by Volume: 46.5%

Chillfiltered? I don't know
Colorant Added? Probably

(thank you to BR for this sample from his bottle!)

NOTES

Whew, the nose starts off fusty like a dusty, which I kinda like. Even after that characteristic wanes, it leaves behind a nice dirty edge. Beyond the fust lies fudge, roses, raspberries and lemon peel.

Less of the dusty fusty on the palate, though here it reads more like Loch Lomond funk, and it dissipates quickly. Unfortunately it's replaced by tannins. On the hand, its sweetness is well moderated by tangy berries and tart citrus.

Berry jam leads the finish, though it's not too sweet. Bitter oak lingers in the background.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

The nose wins by a good length, a common occurrence with cask-heavy spirits, but the palate is better than I'd expected. The finish was not. I'm not sure if everyone will find that same quirky character in the nose and palate (Serge's notes suggest something sulfuric), so this might be a Rorschach test for some. I think it could have been an interesting competitor for Glenmo's Quinta Ruban, had the Reserve been priced more realistically. But alas, Dalmore.

Availability - North America, Europe, and Asia
Pricing - $100+
Rating - 80

Top Ten Deepest Thoughts After Attending Indy's Whisky & Fine Spirits Expo

1. Redbreast 21yo > Glenmorangie 25yo > Talisker 30yo > Port Charlotte Islay Barley > Westland's regular range > Port Charlotte Scottish Barley > Port Dundas 42yo 1973 Duncan Taylor > Taketsuru 21yo > Wolfburn Aurora > Getting Kicked in the Junk > Dalmore King Alexander III

From the bottom up:  Dalmore's current regular range competes with Glenrothes's as the most mediocre in the biz.  King Alex III was the one I've always wanted to try.  I was optimistic.  I was foolish.  It was awful.  Wolfburn Aurora is just as young and unformed as their regular release.  Having greatly enjoyed Nikka's age-stated single malts, I must say I don't get the Taketsuru blended malt series.  Both the 12 and the 21 are very disappointing, thin, and watery.  When it comes to Glenmo 25 being better than Talisker 30, my opinion is probably in the minority.  Glenmorangie 25 really beat my expectations, with a rich palate and a long finish.  Probably reasonable at $150-200, but it's $600, so ha!  And finally, Redbreast 21 kicks ass.  I expected it to be soft and subtle, instead it brought brawn and loads of tropical fruits.  ❤️

2. But one rum ruled them all.

Caroni 16yo 1997 Duncan Taylor, cask 87, provided a dynamic drinking experience unmatched by any of the single malts at the show.  Tar, barbecue, leather, black licorice, and mustard seed. Holy moley. If I were to have bought one bottle of something I tried at the event, that would have been it. Oh wait, I did buy a bottle.

I also tried a half dozen rhum agricoles from JM and Clement, all of which were more interesting than many of the whiskies I've tried this year.

3. And the Cognac outclassed all of the scotches.

Cognac Park's selection was so much fun that I happily sampled six of their products.  Their XO Cigar Blend, Extra Grande Champagne, Chai #8 21yo Single Barrel Petite Champagne, and Fins Bois 1976 were better than everything except for the Redbreast and Caroni.  None of these cognacs were barrel strength, in fact they're all 40%abv, but they were delightful.  Of course they all cost over $100, but if one were so motivated one could buy all 4 for about the same price as one Glenmorangie 25 or one Talisker 30.

4. Ledaig 18yo is weird, as it should be.

Intensely dirty and rougher than the 10yo, Ledaig 18 also dries out the mouth as if it were loaded with tannins.  But it doesn't taste or smell oaky at all.  Very confusing.  As I drank it, I couldn't figure out if it was terrible or awesome.  Just the way I like Ledaig.  Too bad it costs $150-$200 in The States.

5. Knob Creek 2001 Batch 3 bests Four Roses Elliott's Select, and it's not even close.

I went back for a second pour of Elliott's Select in order to compare it to Knob Creek 2001 batch 3, just to make sure my palate wasn't shot.  Sure enough the Knob Creek was richer and landed a much better finish.  I'm becoming a fan of these 2001s (see my review of batch 1).  Meanwhile it seemed as if someone poured Four Roses's Small Batch into the Elliott's bottle.

6. Both of Vine & Table's Signatory single casks are good.

Denis Lynch & Co. selected a 19yo 1995 Imperial and a 24yo 1991 Glen Keith from the Pitlochry people.  With the Imperial coming across bigger and oakier, and the Glen Keith subtler and fruity, I preferred the latter.  Both are very solid and will each have its fans.

7. Attend the classes or presentations offered at major whisky events.

The opportunity to get utterly shitfaced at these big whisky-a-thons is difficult to dodge, especially when there are 500+ pours available.  If classes are offered during drinking time, go!  It'll give you a chance to sit in one place and sample a couple things over 45-60 minutes.  Imagine how many pours you could quaff in that time frame if you were just going from table to table and then imagine your vomit.  So, in addition to education and special spirits, the classes allow you to pace yourself.

The Indy Expo had two classes.  The first was led by Peter Currie, formerly of Springbank, now of Duncan Taylor, who brought along three of DT's products, none of which were single malts.  It was at that session I discovered the Caroni rum (winner!).  Knowing I'd probably overdo it if I went back out to the pouring floor, I got right back in line for the second class which was lead by Cognac Park's Anaïs Brisson.  See item #3 above regarding how that turned.  Again, education + fun drinks + pacing = smaller hangover = success.

8. I've discovered a good way to pare down my Glencairn collection.

I've attended four $100+ whisky events over the past four years.  In those four events, I've had five Glencairns stolen.  This has nothing to do with the events themselves, rather the drunken kleptos who attend them.  When I put my mini-glencairns (obtained from the Laphroaig and Lagavulin distilleries) down with my bag as I grabbed food for less than a minute, some a-hole walked off with both.

9.  I am now much more motivated to explore other brown spirits.

I've bought exactly one bottle of scotch in the three months since I returned from Scotland and am not motivated to buy another one any time soon......though I have picked up a few bottles of bourbon and rye during that time period.  Meanwhile, I've been drinking more cognac than I used to, plus I've been impressed with all of the rhum agricoles I've tried.  This event has led me further down that path.

10. I met great humans!

Aside from going to a whisky event for the whisky, I also went to meet people.  I chatted with a dozen reps, sharing our misery over the mess that is Ohio's state run liquor business.  Shared a drink with a few more.  But what I enjoyed most was the chance to hang out with two of my readers!  Thank you Fletcher and Vik for agreeing to meet up with me and for politely suffering through my vast assortment of opinions.  It was a pleasure!  Thanks, gents!  Hopefully we can do this again some time.

Single Malt Report: Dalmore 12 year old (old label, 2005 bottling)

This week, I declared that a Brora was better than a Craigellachie.  That's what is referred to in some circles as a steaming hot take.  With this post, I happily lay another steamer out just for you.

DALMORE!

Actually, this version of the 12 year old was bottled before the three-dimensional silver plastic stag head was glued to bottles, before the ABV was lowered, before the price doubled.  Yes, this was back when Dalmore 12 cost $25-$30.  And it looked like this:

Rather than going through a list of Dalmore gripes, I'll give you some background to this particular sample.

Distillery: Dalmore
Ownership: Whyte & Mackay (United Breweries Group)
Age: minimum 12 years
Maturation: ex-sherry casks (likely American oak), possibly some ex-bourbons too?
Region: Highlands (Northern)
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Bottled: 2005

Once upon a time, Florin (a prince) gave me one-third of his bottle of Dalmore 12 (bottled 2005).  We had tried the stuff the evening before he gifted the large sample, but I didn't remember what it was like.  He had found it to be noticeably peated.  Before I started into my 8oz, I sent 2oz of it to My Annoying Opinions in a sample swap.  Yes, you read that correctly: I swapped part of someone else's sample for a sample.  Yup.  Moving on...please see MAO's review here.  Though he did not find any peat in the whisky, MAO had some nice stuff to say about it.  There was further conversation about its peat levels in the post's comments.

Many months later, I finally tried the whisky and...... yyyyuck it was all rotten eggs with a hint of orange peels.  I let it sit in a half full bottle for a week before trying it again.  Things had changed.

NEAT
The color is rosy gold.  The first notes on the nose are hot hay and moss.  The rotten egg element while still present has mostly vanished.  LOTS of orange peel, though.  There are smaller prune, beach, and sweat (yes, with an 'a') notes.  Also some toffee and cherry lollipops.  The mild palate gradually grows sweeter with time.  The sherry stays subtle.  Some orange candies, raisins, salt, and moss.  A wormwoody bitterness and maybe some mold on the sherry casks.  The sherry ramps up in the finish, as does the sweetness.  Small notes of sea air, orange candies, and raisins.   Not much else.

WITH WATER (approx. 40%abv)
The farmy hay note remains in the nose, as does the orange peel.  More moss.  Buttery toffee and caramel.  Seaweed and canned peaches.  The palate gets bitterer, while the rest of the flavors flatten out into a blur, like a sherried blend.  Maybe also some burnt white bread crusts, stone fruits, toasted grains.  The finish has some sherry, tobacco, stale dried fruit, and grass.

It's definitely not boring, seeming to change with every sniff and sip, sometimes off-putting, sometimes fascinating, good and bad elements firing at the same time.  Thank goodness that rotten egg thing slipped to the background.

Next, I left the final ounce in a 2oz sample bottle for ten more days to see what a little more oxidation would do...

The nose is much fruitier now with raisins, prunes, pears, and green apples. No eggs! But also, no orange peel. Hint of moss, soil, and wet sand.  The palate remains mild.  The nice bitterness is still there.  More sherry.  A little pepper in the throat.  That pepper remains in the finish, along with the bitterness.  Some salt, sherry, and celery(!).

The more it oxidized, the better it got.  It basically went from an F to a C to a B-.  I don't really recommend adding water to it as the whisky is already light.  That rotten egg issue appears to be unique to my experience, so discount it (if you dare!).  While I would not say this is peaty whisky (probably a 2 on Serge's 0-9 P scale), there were mossy notes repeating in the nose and palate.

As MAO concludes, this was a reasonable whisky at $25.  Can't get much sherried malt (especially with an age statement) at that price.  Plus as I mentioned above, it gets points for amusement value.  I've seen a number of these older bottles on shelves in this neighborhood.  But at $50.  For half that price, I might bite.

Availability - Random corner liquor stores
Pricing - $25-$30 once upon a time, almost twice that price now
Rating - 80 (with oxidation)

Single Malt Report: Vegas 2012 edition (Part 1 of 4)

I'm curled up in bed with a 101.4 degree fever.  Sorry, more cowbell is not the prescription needed.  Instead, I need some consistent sleep and at least a week to dry out.

In the meantime, I'm going to do a bunch of mini-reports on the whiskies sampled at The Whisky Attic.  I posted about this experience last week, but would like to expand a little about the individual spirits.

But first...

I put away about a third of a bottle of Redbreast 12 over three nights.  It's still a damned delicious whiskey, one of the greats.  Everyone in the crew put it away without a single Whiskey Face.  In fact, everyone had it neat and went back for seconds and thirds (and maybe more).  There may even wind up being a bottle or two purchased as a result of the experience.

My brother scored a free drink ticket at the Sports Book and awesomely handed it over to me.  The voucher said that it would only cover well drinks, but the GREAT bartender used Glenfiddich 12 when I politely inquired about it.  If I knew he'd be so swell, I wouldn't have asked for a highball.  But in fact, the club soda really brought out all of the sweets with the 'Fiddich.  So I recommend that to those willing to bruise their booze with soda water.

Wolfgang Puck's Postrio at The Venetian has an exemplary whisky selection.  It's all about quality not quantity in their case.  They had Bunnahabhain, Scapa(!), Tobermory, Caol Ila, and a couple independents in addition to the very good usual suspects.  I went with the Bunny 12 and happily discovered that I finally found the subtle peat note.  It was a lean and peaceful peat, contributing to a great whisky.  I've included an update at the bottom of my original post about Bunny 12.

Now, back to The Whisky Attic drink list:

Dalmore Gran Reserva
Tyrconnell 10yr Irish Single Malt, Madeira Finish
Big Bottom Bourbon
Balvenie 14yr Carribean Cask
Rowan's Creek Bourbon
Willett Straight Rye
Ledaig 15yr
Amrut Cask Strength Indian Single Malt
Laphroaig 10yr Cask Strength
Ardbeg Corryvrecken
Ballylarkin Irish Whiskey Liqueur
Tomintoul 27yr

I'm going to split this up into groups of three in order to make this easier to digest.  These will be a little smaller than the usual reports.

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THE DALMORE GRAN RESERVA

Distillery: The Dalmore
Brand: Gran Reserva (previously known as The Cigar Malt)

Age: 10 to 15 years

Maturation: Oloroso sherry butts and Bourbon barrels
Finish: Sherry butts

Region: Northern Highlands

Alcohol by Volume: 40%

Gorgeous bottle.  Stellar website too.  The Dalmore products are known for their luxurious design.  Their Master Blender (technically the Master for all of the White & Mackay products) is the boisterous Richard Patterson, who has dubbed himself "The Nose" for both physical and job-related reasons.  He has a great online presence and is everywhere at all times, probably the most sociable of all Master Blenders.

The Dalmore whiskies are also very much known for being very darkly colored and very very sherried.  They're also all 40% ABV which is as tamed as a whisky can legally be.  I lust after their King Alexander III whisky, which is a combination of Port, Sherry, Bourbon, Marsala, Madeira, and French red wine finishes.

Their famous flavor characteristic is orange (marmalade, juice, peel, etc.) but I didn't pick up any of that when I'd tried Dalmore 12 some time ago.  That was a little frustrating.

So now here's the Gran Reserva: matured in 40% bourbon barrels and 60% Oloroso sherry butts, then married together for six months in sherry butts.  With the help of Adam Carmer's method could I find the Dalmore character....?

Gran Reserva
Nose: Yay!!!  Success.  Fresh oranges.  Pulp and peel.  A little bit of caramel.
Palate:  The fresh oranges dominate again.  Some milky chocolate hides behind.  Silky texture.
Finish:  Brief.  Mostly vanilla.

It's very graceful.  And by that I mean pleasant rather than boring and subdued.  It's also not as exciting as most of the other whiskies I'd tasted at The Attic, and the finish is quite short.  I can't imagine that raising the alcohol to 43 or 46 percent would be that bad of a thing.

Pricing - Acceptable at $70-$75
Rating - 79

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THE TYRCONNELL 10 YEAR MADEIRA FINISH (Irish Single Malt)

Distillery: Cooley
Brand: Tyrconnell

Age: minimum 10 years

Finish: Madeira casks

Region: Ireland (Louth)

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Yep, not a blend, not a single pot still, but a genuine Irish single malt.  Other than Bushmills, Cooley is producing the only Irish single malts at the moment.  They were also the last of the independent Irish distilleries, until they were purchased by Beam a few months ago.

Tyrconnell was very popular here in The States until Prohibition crushed their brand.  Thankfully it was resurrected by Cooley, who have released four different bottlings.

Whisk(e)y trivia:  The label has an illustration of a racehorse named "The Tyrconnell" once owned by the distillery.  In 1876, they entered it in The National Produce Stakes Irish Classic and, at 100 to 1 odds, it won.

Now to its eponymous whiskey...

The Tyrconnell 10 year, Madeira Finish
Nose: floral but not perfumy, instead its an entire field of blooming flowers; fruit juices (cranberry and grape)
Palate: Fresh ripe fruit and lots of it, stone fruits and berries, all with a solid malt center that keeps it from being overly sweet
Finish: Medium, the fruits remain, and the flowers return

As I've only hinted with all the Redbreast mentions on this blog, I am an enormous Irish whiskey fan.  It has a lightness that doesn't abandon verve and explosive flavor.  And this single malt did not disappoint.  It's probably the juiciest whisk(e)y that I've ever tried, yet it wasn't candied or sweet.  Even the great Serge Valentin called it yummy.  Agreed.

Pricing - Acceptable at $70-$80 (though if Beam could lower it $20......pretty please?)
Rating - 92 (adjusted down to 81 in a later review)

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BIG BOTTOM STRAIGHT BOURBON

The international tour continues.  From the Northern Highlands, to County Louth, to Bourbon County, Kentucky.  This one had Adam, along with the Frog's bartender and I humming the tune to Spinal Tap's "Big Bottom".

Bottler: Big Bottom Whiskey (multiple distilleries)

Age: minimum 3 years

Maturation: New white oak

Region: Bourbon County, Kentucky (spirit); Oregon (company)

Alcohol by Volume: 45.5%

Big Bottom's bottles indeed have big bottoms.  And the flavor is big and bottomless.  They take new make (or white dog) from different distilleries, then they do the wood finishing themselves to create the final product.  This one is 36% rye while a combination of unmalted barley and corn likely makes up the rest.

As mentioned in previous posts, I'm still a little new to the bourbon palate, but it's gradually working its way in.  American whiskey is something that I would love to love.  And big bottoms are worth singing about.

Big Bottom American Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Nose: some nice spiciness (maybe from the rye?), okay "spiciness" is kind of a generic term, how about "zing!" and "whoosh!", followed by more corn sweets than vanilla
Palate: the "zing" is peppery, hot cinnamon and nutmeg, and lots and lots and lots of corn sweets, Frosted Flakes perhaps
Finish: Massive finish, outlasted many of the single malts

Not a bad one.  I love the pricing (see below).  Would be great in an old-fashioned, the spice mixing with the bitters.  I would definitely order this neatly in a bar to give it a second run.  Very different than Blanton's, so my bourbon world is quietly expanding...

Pricing - Good at $28 (same price at five different locations)
Rating - 74

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Part 2 to follow soon...