Dalmore 16 Years Old 2008 Cask #800125 (Connoisseurs Choice)

This Dalmore was bottled by the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, a 16 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask 800125, bottled at 57.8%, one of 167 bottles. Dalmore is a Highland distillery on the Cromarty Firth, famous for its rich, heavily sherried single malt. It is owned by Whyte and Mackay, and its King Alexander III bottling nods to the clan legend.

The spirit was drawn off stills whose cooling jackets build a rich, oily spirit, giving the thick, oily spirit that drinks sherry so well. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the oak letting the full bodied, oily character lead. At oxidative maturity aldehydes and esters lend dried fruit while ellagitannins add a drying, tannic grip. 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.

Bottled at a cask strength 57.8%, it is rich. Baked fruit, coffee and a dark sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. It is full and rich, the opulent spirit shining through. The close is long, fruit over a rich sherry. This is a chocolate, orange and dried fruit Highland single malt.