Dalmore Constellation Collection 35 Years Old 1976

A 35 year old Dalmore, a distillery bottling, from 1976, cask 3, at 51.1%, 231 bottles in all. Dalmore is a rich, chocolate and orange Highland single malt, deeply marked by sherry wood. Most expressions are finished in aged sherry wood, giving orange, chocolate and treacle.

Drawn off stills whose cooling jackets build a rich, oily spirit, for a heavy, rich make that suits aged sherry wood. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding vanilla and a soft honey. Ethereal and old, decades draw the malt to a rich, waxy depth of sotolon, old oak and dried fruit. The cool Highland air on the firth gives a slow, even maturation. The thick spirit shows the sherry clearly, dried fruit and orange over a malty depth. It is owned by Whyte and Mackay, and its King Alexander III bottling nods to the clan legend. Refill oak lets the full bodied Dalmore character lead, orange and dried fruit beneath.

At a natural 51.1% it is full and honeyed. Dried fruit, orange and a treacly malt, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is heavy, the fruit carried on a rich, malty body. A full, sherried finish ends on orange and dark chocolate. This is one of the Highlands' most opulent single malts.