The Dalmore 40 yo
Highland Single Malt Whisky
45% abv
£1350
Malt Mission #290, wow.
I look back through this blog and I have to admit, I am pretty proud of myself. That's a lot of focused controlled consumption! Then I look at Kevin's Scotch Blog, Johannes et al's Malt Madness or Serge's Whiskyfun and all is put into perspective. But, to be fair, with that perspective comes the realisations that pride isn't enough to sustain something like this because, a) I don't have the apparent cash flow that Serge has and b) that my passion (but mostly time) is diminishing, much like Kevin's in recent months. It has to be said that one solution to these problems might be to accept advertising on Dr. Whisky. I am not going to lie to you, I have resisted for some time now and turned down two offers I simply could not morally justify in the sacrifice of my credibility and integrity. But as my beloved K consoled me the other night, "we can't afford credibility right now." Valid point. The dilemma continues.
That is the ugly 'real-life' crap that is really none of your business. What IS your business is that in the run-up to Malt Mission 300 I hope to pull out all the £1350 drams that I can (I think this is the only one). But there will be some sweet drams before the closing of THIRD century of Malt Missions. After that I might have ads for porn all over Dr. Whisky and start Dr. Whiskey reviewing bourbons and such. Anyways, to this 40 year old Dalmore...
On the 13th February 1965 this whisky ran from Dalmore's oddly designed copper stills and was filled to American white oak barrels. Kind of mind blowing to think about how long a single whisky maker has been monitoring a few barrels. Four decades! That alone has to be worth something. The final result has been transfered from American white oak ex-bourbon barrels to Europen oak ex-Matusalem sherry casks and finally to casks that used to hold Amoroso sherry. Crafty.
This is one of only 1000 bottles. Thanks to David Robertson, Richard Paterson and Margaret Nicol for sending along the drops and supporting information for this and all drams this week. For all Dalmores had on the mission click HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Age immediately apparent with lush oak the keynote. Surprisingly malty after so many years of cask influence on a barley spirit. Orange juice or Sunny D, tobacco and ash, black tea, some petrol, banana and maple syrup.
Luscious fruits initially, banana, apples, raisins, blueberries and vanilla, then honeyed tones explode into a toasty oaky bearhug that is in turns drying and mouthwatering. Great flavour ride and a slow drinker.
SUMMARY:
High and low tones of citrus, blueberry jam and oak; great harmony in a fruity, musty and surprisingly malty old beauty.
Malt Mission #286
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Malt Mission #289
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1 comment:
Don't be discouraged. I think one or two well placed ads that aren't distracting are to be expected on a successful blog. You spend your personal time writing for your blog and adding to the community. I can't imagine anyone would fault you for trying to offset some of the cost involved.
Good luck. Keep writing and we'll keep reading.
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