We come back to the Highlands to meet a distillery, that shamefully is quite absent on the web site. It’s our fault, of course, and we can’t blame the histrionic master Richard Paterson. Today we try the core range entry-level whisky, aged 12 years. Actually this isn’t the current version as it is called “cream label” and it comes from the nineties. But will it be true glory?
N: it’s very open and aromatic from the start and only ocasionally an alcoholic note emerges despite the low degree. Absolutely malty (something like brioche) and with a strong sherried shoulder: burnt caramel and red fruits. A note of roast meet coocked with carrots and onions stands out. A touch of vanilla, raisin and dark chocolate. It’s an easy whisky but straight and charming, so malt driven.
P: in the beginning we would say it comes a little watery, but after a while it turns out to be creamy and definitely unbalanced towards the sherry-side. Again we have that slightly jarring alcoholic note, and again we move in a world based on malt and brioche; then oranges, caramel, dark chocolate. It also has a little bit of herbal bitterness. Hazelnut candy! Serge says “rosemary” and he’s right!
F: long, malty and clean, herbaceous again. Maybe this is the best part of the tasting.
When we taste whiskies from the past, it seems to us that malty notes are often the leading ones: a full and mature malt compared to the green malt that sometimes we detect nowdays. This Dalmore 12 yo is surely lacking of a strong body and low alcohol content doesn’t help, but we can’t reject a whisky so easy to drink and pleasurable: 84/100, it’s our verdict.
Recommended soundtrack: Chocolate Clay – Free (I’ll always be)
