Dalmore 10 Year Old "Hart Brothers Finest Collection" K&L Exclusive Cask Strength First Fill Sherry Butt Unchillfiltered Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Staff Reviews

WB

Will Blakely

Will Blakely

Without question, single casks of Dalmore have become something of a legend in recent years. The distillery has cloistered and held back stock to go into their top end releases, leaving us to languish and yearn for some morsel to slip through the cracks. This bottling from Hart Brothers has answered our prayers, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have such a fine specimen in-store once again. From first pour, you're greeted by mouthwatering aromas of honey, marmalade, apricot and raspberry preserve. The first sip rewards you with nougat, candied citrus, flaky pastry, heather and salted peanuts. Something I always love from Dalmore - a winsome flavor and texture like rich custard - makes this feel nostalgic and supremely satisfying. It hits everything I miss about barrels that used to be much more readily available. I will note that the sherry here feels a lot less like Oloroso and much more like Fino - it's delicate and integrated rather than fudgy and sticky, and the flavors tend more toward lemon peel, stone fruit and sea salt. Regardless, this undeniably presents tremendous quality for the price, and I would be surprised to see this last more than a month or two on the shelves. Grab as many as you can before they disappear.

Notes

Dalmore is one of those malts that will forever be controversial. They've made a name for themselves selling old sherry barrels at astronomical prices, but we rarely see the malt bottled as single barrel or at cask strength. When we do come across the odd independent bottling, it's almost always in second or third fill barrels destined otherwise for some big-name blend and while those can be lovely whiskies, they simply don't capture the essence of The Dalmore like you might expect. That is, of course, because the brand has become synonymous with sherry aging. Now, for the very first time, we can offer a proper single cask of Dalmore aged entirely in sherry! It's bottled at full cask strength and is fully nonchillfiltered, nor is there added coloring. The resulting whisky is exactly what all the whisky geeks hoped for: AMAZING. When you're tasting those distillery bottlings, loving the flavors, but ultimately crying out for more character, intensity, and power — this is the barrel for you. If you're a classic Dalmore lover, you'll probably want to take one home, even if it falls out of the distillery's typical soft and round character. That said, with a nice splash of water this gorgeous thing relents easily, reminding us that the Dalmore is really a gentle dram, given the right environment. There's no question that sherry lovers of all stripes will appreciate this excellent and well-priced cask.