Dalmore 50 Years Old

An official release of Dalmore, a 50 year old, at 45%, 77 bottles in all. Dalmore sits above the Cromarty Firth, its water jacketed stills building a thick, oily spirit. The Mackenzie clan ran it from 1867, and gave it the twelve pointed Royal Stag, after an ancestor saved King Alexander III from a charging stag in 1263.

It was made in copper stills whose water jackets give a heavy make, to build a rich, sherry loving character. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the rich character to the fore. At a great, fragile age oxidation rules, sotolon lending maple and old oak as leather, coffee and dark chocolate linger. The thick spirit shows the sherry clearly, dried fruit and orange over a malty depth. The Royal Stag style is built on rich spirit and deep sherry wood. The full bodied make rewards a long, sherried maturation in good wood.

At 45% it is smooth and honeyed. Baked fruit, coffee and a dark sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath it run orange, dark chocolate and dried fruit. Dried fruit, orange and a treacly oak see out the finish. This is Dalmore's opulent, chocolate orange Highland style.