Dalmore 12 2006 SMWS 13.77 "Foraging the forest floor"

This is one I’ve been waiting a while to review, and feels a bit like the culmination of the recently reviewed Dalmore samples I posted not too long ago. I took a chance on this when it came up in the “Hidden Gems” of the month email (presumably just marketing for underperforming bottles). It sounded up my alley, and I was in an exploratory mood. Once I opened it, it became one of my favorite whiskies, a real surprise as a peat fan (almost exclusively at that time). Has it remained there?

Dalmore 12, 2006 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 13.77, Highland Single Malt, 59.9% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on September 21, 2006 and matured in a 1st-fill bourbon barrel for 12 years yielding 174 bottles. This is part of the Oily & Coastal flavor profile named “Foraging the forest floor”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Deep gold; 0.8.

Nose: Fruit and malt. Mossy, earthy. Some vanilla in there.

Taste: Salt, wood, beach. Woodsy and bitter.

Finish: Malt, cereal, spice, wood. Salt lingering. Long.

It’s tough to say why, as no specific element really jumps out at me here, but this just really hits where I want it to. I’m glad I took that chance, and I’m sad it’s not a regular thing, nor representative of the source distillery.

Score: 92

Musical Evocation: Finsterforst – “Traumwald”

Secret Grain Distillery 43 1976 The Daily Dram – Classics with a Twist

A while back I picked up a sample of a 34-year-old grain whisky, and since then I’ve wanted to try an older one and explore that realm a bit more. I was placing an order from a new site that happened to have one at a price I was comfortable with so here we are. I’ve seen speculation from retailers that due to the age this is likely to have come from Invergordon, but I don’t know that for sure, nor do I know if there’s any basis to that speculation.

Secret Grain Distillery 43, 1976 Vintage, The Daily Dram, Scotland Single Grain, 45.1% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 1976, matured for 43 years, and bottled in 2020. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Amber; 0.7.

Nose: Dried fruit, stone fruit, vanilla/bourbon, lemon meringue pie (a combo of lemon crème and pastry), green/fresh.

Taste: Peachy, bitter, creamy, woody. The peaches were massive on the first sip, more subdued over the dram, but not to the point where it became faint.

Finish: Peach, cereal, spices. Long. 

I like it, and the peachy bit is really nice, but for my palate it’s missing a lot of what I enjoy, namely smoke. I guess it’s lacking what has helped a number of other unpeated drams get there for me. It’s a fine value, and worth a try, but for me it’s just not terribly compelling to me beyond a note or two I enjoy.

Score: 81

Musical Evocation: Frank Zappa – “Peaches en Regalia”

Évadé Peated

A while back I remember reading that France had recently gotten into the single malt game, and sure enough it turned out they made a peated one. It was something on my wishlist for a while and eventually Fine Drams had enough whiskies in stock that I wanted but didn’t want quite enough to just go ahead and order on their own so I ordered this. Looking forward to seeing what France has to offer, specifically the different stills (apparently the kind used for Congnac distillation), and the peat evidently being from Hamburg.

Évadé Peated, France Single Malt, 43% ABV

Minutia: Double distilled in Charente stills and aged four to seven years in ex-bourbon (Heaven Hill) barrels and American oak. It’s unclear if that means bourbon AND other casks made of American oak or just American oak bourbon casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Pale straw; 0.2.

Nose: Smoky, light and floral in nature.

Taste: Sweet like honey, some spice.

Finish: Smoke, ash, earthy. Shorter. Bubblegum on the tail end.

It’s neat. It has an overall lighter feel which is a nice change of pace, but not lacking in flavor, specifically on the rather enjoyable finish. Mostly what I like is a surge of smokiness, but thene when it fades into the bubblegum it’s quite nice and not a cloying sweetness.

Score: 81

Musical Evocation: Alcest – “Là où niassent les couleurs nouvelles”

Glenlivet 36 1981 Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange

I’m not gonna lie, most of the reason for my purchasing this was to have something in this age tier for the sake of it. That said, I’m not disinterested in it, it’s just nothing I’d go for otherwise. Preferring peat, and only ever having Glenlivet back when I thought Scotch was something to shoot, I’d never have thought of it, but as my appreciation for unpeated malt has grown, I am looking forward to it.

Glenlivet 36, 1981 Vintage, Signatory Vintage, Speyside Single Malt, 47.6% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on December 21, 1981 and matured for 36 years with the final 76 months in Sherry butt #12 and bottled on April 18, 2018 yielding 702 bottles. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Burnt umber; 1.7.

Nose: Fruity, malty delight. Orange liqueur chocolate treat. Very little jumps out (other than intense fruitiness from the glass before you even get your nose to it), but many things play coy in the background.

Taste: Wow, rich, decadent fruit. Cherry goop. Orange. And whatever that tasty chewable antibiotic is that as a kid made me happy to be sick.

Finish: Orange zest and malt. Medium-short.

This exceeded my expectations, and given the described familiarity with Glenlivet that was a surprise. The nose was nice, and the palate was full of bold flavor, though the finish didn’t last as long as I’d have enjoyed.

Score: 90

Musical Evocation: Mazzy Star – “Fade Into You”

Stauning Smoke

Those of you who follow me know I like peat, and are probably tired of hearing about how I’m always looking to try new takes on it. Seeing a Danish single malt that was peated, I had ordered a bottle of this a year or so ago but the package ended up not making it out to me (either lost or damaged, I’m pretty sure the latter). As there was no more stock it was refunded rather than reshipped. By the time I saw it available again, the price had gone from what you’d expect from a NAS release from a newer distillery to rather high prices you can see it for today. Though I’ve seen some fairly high praise for it, so maybe word got around and the price is, if not warranted, at least defensible. I decided to pass, but eventually a sample came up so I grabbed it. I’m a big fan of distilleries using local ingredients, including peat, and that’s also the case here so looking forward to my first exposure to Danish peat.

Stauning Smoke, Denmark Single Malt, 47% ABV

Minutia: Peated using Danish peat and local heather. Aged in 1st-fill wine and spirit casks according to the webstie, but I’ve read those casks are 1st-fill bourbon, 1st fill Madeira, 1st-fill Jamaican rum and virgin American oak. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Amber; 0.7.

Nose: Light smoke, vegetal, green apple.

Taste: Floral, vegetal/herbal, sweet.

Finish: Smoke, ash, charred coffee, apple skin.

This is nice and light with some smoke in there. It’s a collection of fruits that I don’t usually get with peated whisky; while this is very much in the apple family I usually get more dark or dried or red fruit. I’m looking forward to future releases.

Score: 83

Musical Evocation: Volbeat – “Leviathan”

Dalmore King Alexander III

The final of the four Dalmores from the sample pack I picked up before the payoff in a couple weeks of a review of what has surprisingly been one of my favorite whiskies, an SMWS Dalmore. This sample unfortunately spilled a tiny bit in transit but fortunately only a little bit was lost. Anyway, this was one that I was really hopeful to try because, as with many Dalmores here, the price is way above anything I’d be willing to pay to get a bottle. So here we go.

Dalmore King Alexander III, Highland Single Malt, 40% ABV

Minutia: Matured for an undisclosed amount of time in ex-bourbon American oak, and split between ex-bourbon casks, Matusalem Oloroso Sherry casks, Madeira barrels, Marsala casks, Port pipes, Cabernet Sauvignon barriques, and married in an “in situ” Sherry butt. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Burnt umber; 1.7.

Nose: Subtle, musty at the start. Very much like red wine; at time of notes I didn’t know the specifics of the casks but figured one must have been wine and was almost certainly a cab (based both on my hunch and recent familiarity with Dalmore knowing at least one other release uses them), so very much in that realm. Caramel and vanilla, stress on the caramel. Dried fruit. Reminds of a very decadent dessert.

Taste: Honey nut, sweet smooshed fruits, a bit bitter.

Finish: Warm and soft, then oaky fruit. Sugar syrup. On the shorter side.

It’s actually quite nice. I expected a sub-par NAS that tricks you into liking it based on the extravagant price. For something like this, and I usually don’t like to be critical of bottling proof as that proof is what the product is, I really wish it had a bit more there. I imagine the great nose would really take it up a notch, and a palate that’s not quite as robust as I like probably would have gotten (at least a bit closer to it). 46%, even 43% would likely take it up a notch or two. Don’t let that criticism distract you from the fact that it’s a quality dram, but it just costs too much for what it is.

Score: 81

Musical Evocation: Iron Maiden – “Alexander the Great”

An Fear Grinn Móinteach

I picked this up when I learned about it as it happened to have released shortly before I was checking out the bottler based on a previous purchase (Against the Grain). As always, I’m interested in peat, particularly when it’s otherwise made in the Irish style, in this case triple distilled. Evidently the first release was successful enough to do another (similar) one. It’s called an inaugural release so that suggests it will be somewhat regular.

An Fear Grinn Móinteach, Ireland Single Malt, 46% ABV

Minutia: Triple distilled at the Great Northern Distillery, the peated spirit was matured in 1st-fill bourbon barrels and bottled by the Whiskey Factor in 2021 yielding 1000 bottles. Enjoyed neat in a Tuath glass.

Color: Pale gold; 0.3.

Nose: A sweet smoke, leather, tea. Has an overall green feel to it.

Taste: Peppery, smoke, lemon meringue pie.

Finish: Toasted marshmallow, smoke, coffee.

Pretty good, and a great finish. I hope this is a regular release as I’d like to have it as an option going forward. Also looking forward to other releases in this line. I’ll also note that there was a really nice ambient note from the empty glass an hour or two after finishing it, though nothing the next morning.

Score: 85

Musical Evocation: Wolves in the Throne Room – “A Looming Resonance”

Dalmore 18

The third of four of the Dalmore sample kit I picked up. This is the one I was least interested in, though it’s one of the more expensive ones which I’d never bother to try for the price otherwise, so that’s nice. It’s also nice to try one of the core range that doesn’t have some ‘special’ thing to it. So let’s get to it.

Dalmore 18, Highland Single Malt, 43% ABV

Minutia: Matured for a total of 18 years in various casks. I’ve read it spends 14 years in American oak ex-bourbon barrels, 3 years in Matusalem Oloroso Sherry casks, and a final year in other Sherry casks, but Dalmore’s website only mentioned the first two kinds of casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Auburn, polished mahogany; 1.5.

Nose: Musty, fruity, malt.

Taste: Quite a bit going on. It’s fruity, nutty, a bit sweet, spices and herbs, and they dance back and forth in prominence.

Finish: Nutty, warm. A bit like chocolate. It tapers down after a short while to a mild nut flavor with some spices there now and again. Medium-long.

It’s not quite for me as I strongly prefer peat, but I was pleasantly surprised by this. It’s interesting enough to be enjoyable even without my preferred flavor elements. A far cry from a good value, but a nice dram.

Score: 75