Review by: The Muskox

Ahhh, Dalmore. The butt the joke for every so-called whisky nerd. But are they really all that bad? Sure, they add hilarious amounts of caramel colourant, and their master blender looks like an upper-class walrus, but maybe they’re just misunderstood geniuses like Bowmore. Maybe the spirit underneath is actually great. Here’s one way to find out – indie-bottled Dalmore. This one is from Hart Brothers and has been matured in a port pipe.

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Distillery: Dalmore.

Bottler: Hart Brothers.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 55.1%, cask strength.

Age: 11 years old. Distilled in 04/2007. Bottled in 11/2018.

Cask type: First Fill Port Pipe.

Color: Bright gold. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

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Nose: Slightly nose-singeing. Bright pinkish fruit – grapefruit, strawberry jellies, and orange marmalade (we’ll pretend it’s blood orange, that’s sort of pink). A little gin-like – a more floral gin, but there’s some juniper in there too. Honey-drizzled oatcakes and pink marshmallows. Olive oil.

A dribble of water cuts most of that gin character, and adds honey and walnut.

Palate: thick texture. Arrives with grapefruit, flowers, and more juniper, then malty and a little leafy in the middle. Crusty bread, dipped in spicy olive oil. Mostly sweet.

With water, there’s a bit more port flavour. Riper berries, citrus, and some vanilla.

Finish: Medium. Red grapefruit. A bit of port. Slightly young-harsh. More of that olive oil note, deepening a bit into cherry tomato?

With water, more port, some navel orange, and light malt.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Cold-pressed pink martini”

Notes: Good but flawed. It comes across younger than it is, with the spiky nose and the leafy and gin-like character. The port notes are alright, and are nice oily and nutty-malty flavours in there that might be a feature of the Dalmore spirit. I do think, however, that I’ll need to continue my search for unadulterated Dalmore with a less cask-forward whisky.

Final Score: 76.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.