Dalmore 11 Years Old 2008 Cask #HL 16467 (Edition Spirits)

From the bottler Edition Spirits, an 11 year old Dalmore, distilled in 2008, from cask HL 16467, bottled at 46%, one of 367 bottles. Dalmore is a rich, chocolate and orange Highland single malt, deeply marked by sherry wood. The rich, dried fruit style runs through the core range, from the twelve year old upward.

Distilled in flat topped wash stills and water jacketed spirit stills on River Averon water, giving the thick, oily spirit that drinks sherry so well. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, vanilla and a soft orange behind the rich spirit. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into vanilla as ethyl esters lend a riper orange and dried fruit. Long ageing turns the fresh orange towards marmalade, dark chocolate, coffee and a warm spice. The cool Highland air on the firth gives a slow, even maturation. Much of its sherry comes from aged Oloroso casks, the Matusalem, Apostoles and Amoroso butts of Gonzalez Byass.

At 46% it is clean and soft. Marmalade, chocolate and a malty depth, 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 a sherried Highland single malt of real depth.