Dalmore Rivers Collection

Dalmore from the distillery, at 40%. Dalmore is a Highland distillery on the Cromarty Firth, famous for its rich, heavily sherried single malt. The rich, dried fruit style runs through the core range, from the twelve year old upward.

The spirit was drawn off stills whose cooling jackets build a rich, oily spirit, to build a rich, sherry loving character. A bourbon barrel held it, vanilla and a marmalade citrus over the oily malt. Carrying no age, soft vanillin (vanilla) and a dried fruit richness suggest a fair spell in cask. An aged Oloroso cask suits the rich spirit, dried fruit and chocolate meeting the oily weight. It is owned by Whyte and Mackay, and its King Alexander III bottling nods to the clan legend. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the rich, sherried core over the years. The rich, oily spirit takes cask flavour superbly, especially aged sherry wood.

At 40% it is clean and soft. A rich, oily chocolate orange, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Marmalade, chocolate and dried fruit fill the middle. The close is long, fruit over a rich sherry. This is a sherried Highland single malt of real depth.