Ahhhh, it’s nice to be back in front of the computer writing
for fun. Not that all the writing we do isn’t fun, but there is something
liberating about writing a piece for this site which doesn’t require a word
count nor a deadline!
Recently you may have noticed a slight, erm, scarcity to the
level of posts we’ve been penning. Never one to shirk away from our duties, our
eyes, hands, ears and, most importantly, taste buds have been kept busy in a
different direction, finishing off a book (a proper physical one with paper pages and everything) due out next year and meddling with this wee beast: www.3dwhisky.com
But here we are again, back in the game and ready to bring
you some tasty wee morsels in the lead up to Christmas.
And a bloomin’ good job too as the samples are piling up on
our desk here at Caskstrength HQ. So, what better way than to kick this week
off with than a new release from Whyte & Mackay.
As I sat down to write this piece, my inbox pinged with news
from leading drinks industry fact-mongers Just-Drinks. It informed me (and the
rest of the world, too) of what Diageo, now ‘owners’ of Whyte & Mackay,
were planning to do with the host of whisky brands acquired since their take
over earlier in the year of then Indian-owned United Spirits.
Until everything is confirmed about who the parent company
will eventually be in this liquid custody battle, refereed by the Office of
Fair Trading, the folk over at W&M have been busy expanding their core
range of The Dalmore, adding to the already existing 12, 15, 18, Cigar Malt
Reserve and excellent King Alexander III (our personal fav) with a 25 year old
offering.
We first tried this new release about two week ago when the
sample arrived in our office. Dave Broom had popped in to say hello ahead of the annual IWSC dinner where he was to be bestowed with his much deserved Communicator of the Year award
(well done, Dave), but we didn’t get a chance to really sit with the whisky, take notes
and savour the whole experience, so we were looking forward to a quite time when we could really relax and give this new experssion our full attention.
So what of theliquid? Well, once fresh from the stills, this Dalmore was matured in American white oak casks before being divided into Palomino Fino
sherry butts and first-fill bourbon casks. Once matured, the whiskies were
married together once again into bourbon barrels before finally being
transferred into Tawny Port pipes from Portugal.
Quite the international journey for a humble
Scottish spirit! It sounds complicated, but nowhere near as complex as the King
Alexander, which is a blend of Dalmore matured in French
wine casks, Madeira drums, Sherry butts, Marsala barrels, Port pipes and
Bourbon barrels. Over complicated? Not in the case of the King Alex, but let’s
see how the 25 year old fares...
Nose:
Toffee fudge is the first note to rise from the glass, followed by some marzipan
and strong bergamot. These orange notes develop in a rich marmalade smothered
on hot toast. With a hint of water tropical fruits come through.
Palate:
Rich and rounded, the bergamot flavours take the driving seat with burnt sugar,
toasted almonds and a hint of black pepper and cinnamon spices on top. Very
rich mouthfeel With water the whisky opens up a little to give all the previous
flavoured a much more rounded and sweet tone. Personal preference, at the risk
of being chastised by The Dalmore’s Richard Paterson himself, is with ever such
a small drop of H2O.
Finish:
The spices and dried orange peel tingle away at the back, but with water this
is rounded off for a more subtle, quite frankly, delicious.
Overall:
A unanimous decision here in the Caskstrength office that this is, wait for it,
“a really excellent whisky”. A great way to get us back in the swing of things,
as we head towards the prime whisky drinking time of Christmas and the New Year.