Dalmore 13 Years Old 2005 Cask #DL 13370 (Old Particular)

From the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, a 13 year old Dalmore, distilled in 2005, from cask DL 13370, bottled at 48.4%, one of 316 bottles. Dalmore is a rich, marmalade and dark chocolate Highland single malt of real opulence. It is owned by Whyte and Mackay, and its King Alexander III bottling nods to the clan legend.

Run through the distillery's unusual flat topped and water jacketed stills, for the rich, full bodied make Dalmore is known for. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the thick spirit. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the rich body fuller and darker. An aged Oloroso cask suits the rich spirit, dried fruit and chocolate meeting the oily weight. The cool Highland air on the firth gives a slow, even maturation. The distillery stands on the firth near Alness, in the Northern Highlands. Its long time master distiller Richard Paterson, known as The Nose, shaped the rich house style.

At a hearty 48.4% it carries real weight. A full, dried fruit richness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked fruit and a warm spice lift it. The finish is long, rich and chocolatey. This is the Royal Stag malt of the Cromarty Firth.