Dalmore 11 Years Old 2001 Cask #6984 (Creative Whisky Company)

From the bottler Creative Whisky Company, an 11 year old Dalmore, distilled in 2001, from cask 6984, bottled at 52.1%. Dalmore is a rich, marmalade and dark chocolate Highland single malt of real opulence. Its long time master distiller Richard Paterson, known as The Nose, shaped the rich house style.

Run through the distillery's unusual flat topped and water jacketed stills, for a heavy, rich make that suits aged sherry wood. A Cabernet Sauvignon cask gave blackcurrant, red berry and a dry spice. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the rich body fuller and darker. The full bodied make rewards a long, sherried maturation in good wood. The water jacketed stills give a heavy spirit that soaks up sherry over a long maturation. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the rich malt. Dalmore's sherry comes largely from the aged Oloroso casks of Gonzalez Byass.

At its natural 52.1% it is concentrated. A full, dried fruit richness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked fruit and a warm spice lift it. The finish is deep, sherried and dark. This is the Royal Stag malt of the Cromarty Firth.