Dalmore Vintage 20 Years Old 1996

A 20 year old Dalmore, a distillery bottling, from 1996, at 45%, 3000 bottles in all. Dalmore sits above the Cromarty Firth, its water jacketed stills building a thick, oily spirit. Most expressions are finished in aged sherry wood, giving orange, chocolate and treacle.

It was made in copper stills whose water jackets give a heavy make, for the rich, full bodied make Dalmore is known for. A Cabernet Sauvignon cask gave blackcurrant, red berry and a dry spice. In the oxidative middle years oxidation draws out a deeper dried fruit, vanillin and lactones fully expressed. The Royal Stag style is built on rich spirit and deep sherry wood. The thick spirit shows the sherry clearly, dried fruit and orange over a malty depth. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the rich, sherried core over the years. Much of its sherry comes from aged Oloroso casks, the Matusalem, Apostoles and Amoroso butts of Gonzalez Byass.

Bottled at 45%, it is rounded. A rich, sherried sweetness, with plum and red berry from the cask. A dried fruit and a chocolate depth give it weight. The close is long, fruit over a rich sherry. This is one of the Highlands' most opulent single malts.