Review by: Raygun

Dalmore is part of the Whyte & Mackay group, owners of Fettercairn, Jura, and Tamnavulin. Not the most sought-after single malts, though the revamped Fettercairn line has some adherents. Dalmore, however, gets a lot of criticism for the low ABV and heavy use of color in its OB line, in addition to high prices. I don’t think I’ve ever had an OB. Here we have an IB from a bourbon hogshead as opposed to the sherry and port casks used in the OBs. Old and Rare is a Hunter Laing label, mostly on the higher end. I’m more familiar with a white and silver label instead of the purple one this has. I’m not sure if that indicates anything; I don’t think it’s a general change. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 15 minutes.

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Distillery: Dalmore

Bottler: Hunter Laing  

Region/style: Highlands single malt Scotch

ABV: 52.3%

Age: 22 years old. Distilled in February 2000 and bottled in October 2022.      

Cask type: Refill hogshead, 182 bottles

Color: 1.1 burnished. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Juicy and somewhat tropical, along with a big dose of oak. Guava, mangosteen, peach, and starfruit. A touch of something herbal. Very summery.                  

Palate: Oh yeah. This is my jam. Oaky and tropical flavors battling it out. Tannic and fresh at the same time. Malt, peach, starfruit, tangerine, mangosteen…similar fruit to the nose, suffice to say. Like tropical fruit gum. Becomes even fruitier with a few drops of water. It would be a juice bomb, but the oak keeps it in check. Great texture. Runs a touch hot.    

Finish: The oak starts to take over. On the verge of too tannic, but not quite going over. Yet not much of the spice that comes with oak. Just very woody, with some black tea. Some of the fruitiness remains.   

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Conclusion: This is wonderful. I don’t know why Dalmore wants to douse their OBs in sherry with a distillate like this. Maybe it’s not representative of what most casks are like; I wouldn’t know. All I can say is that this is a fantastic pour and I have to put IB Dalmore on my radar.

Score: 89

Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)