The Dalmore
As both a whisky producer and a whisky connoisseur it’s important to have a great story to accompany the whisky. Whisky is the best spirit and is to be enjoyed for its exquisite taste, yes, but whisky also tells stories. The Dalmore tells a truly fascinating story – and sells truly incredible whisky.
The Dalmore produces extraordinary single malt Scotch, and they stand out with their singular distillation method and with their expert selection of casks. The Dalmore’s collection currently consists of The Principal Collection, their Travel Exclusives as well as an extensive and impressive archive of limited editions. Dalmore whisky is unquestionably a must in a whisky connoisseur’s collection, indeed the question is: Can a whisky collection ever be complete without a Dalmore presence?*
For five decades Richard Paterson has been a great part of shaping The Dalmore into the significant, distinct whisky brand it is today. He’s an iconic Master Distiller, renowned across the industry, and he functions skillfully as a curator in choosing the very best, rare and most precious casks. As a result, the Dalmore taste is expressed in iconic, innovative releases, which are left lingering within the industry for perpetuity.
*The answer is no.
The Emblematic Royal Stag
The ownership has been in the hands of Whyte & Mackay since 1960 – today Whyte & Mackay is a subsidiary of Emperador Inc. However, Master Distiller Richard Paterson is ‘the face’ of The Dalmore – he’s undoubtedly the creative force, upholding the immense quality in both craft and taste.
There is indeed a lot to uphold, as The Dalmore has roots going back to 1263. The ornate and emblematic stag, which adorns every single Dalmore bottle, is not only the symbol of the distillery but also of the rich family history and heritage dating back to the Middle Ages.
The stag refers back to the fact when the Chief of Clan Mackenzie, Colin of Kintail, rescued none other but Alexander III of Scotland from an aggressive stag. The King promptly and with gratitude presented Colin Kintail with a Tricolore grant: the lands of The Island of Donnán, the motto “Luceo Non-Uro” [I Shine, Not Burn] as well – and most notably – the right to decorate Mackenzie’s clan crest with the 12-pointed Royal Stag.
The Dalmore doesn’t exactly date back to 1263, not many businesses do, but it was established in 1839 by Alexander Matheson. The distillery is to this day based in Alness on the east coast of the Highlands, and it was in 1891 handed over to Andrew and Charles Mackenzie – as members of Clan Mackenzie this naturally ties a connection to the Royal Stag.
Business went well until the British Royal Navy started to produce deep-sea mines in the adjoining firth in 1917. This might seem somewhat unconnected, but the distillery was destroyed following a mine detonation incident, which caused explosion and fire. As a result, Andrew Mackenzie initiated a legal battle against the Royal Navy, which lasted about five years and even went before the House of Lords.
Despite the literal blow up Dalmore remained a family-owned business until 1960 when Whyte & Mackay went from customer to owner in 1960. For some years The Dalmore was limited to a single expression, The Dalmore 12 Year Old, but in recent years the distillery has expressed their unique and distinct characteristics in several more single malt releases. A fair amount of the collection is made out of exclusive and luxurious expressions, the prices of which reach five figures in the top end.
The complexity and quality are naturally due to the extraordinary craft and expertise that goes into creating the renowned Dalmore single malts. And Dalmore does things a little bit differently…
Stills & Casks
The Dalmore Distillery has a 4.2 MLPA (million litres per annum) capacity. Four wash stills and four stills are in constant function, and they’re naturally watched over by highly experienced stillmen. Experience and craftsmanship are needed, as the Dalmore employ a more unconventional distillation method.
Their wash stills are flat-topped and in different sizes – three of them have 13,000-litre capacities, while the last one is double the size. One of the four spirit stills is equally twice as big as the other three, and they all have water coolers around the next to help in reflux. All of this, of course, serves a purpose: the size differentials and the water coolers cause varied strengths of the charge, which creates different flavours. Causing great consistency, the distillates are vatted before they’re casked.
The Dalmore system of maturation is incredibly specific and unique, and it’s all down to the iconic Master Distiller Richard Paterson.
Each cask is hand-picked and curated by Paterson, who won’t accept anything but exceptionality. Every Dalmore expression is doubled-matured (in varying lengths of time, of course). Ex-bourbon casks of American white oak come first in the maturation process, and they bring out notes of vanilla, tropical fruits, spice and honey.
In the second stage of maturation, the whisky is transferred to aged sherry casks, which have been sourced from the very best bodegas and wineries. Quite remarkably The Dalmore has the exclusive right to 30-year-old Matusalem Oloroso sherry – these are rare casks from González Byass. The casks impart the expressions with a distinct character of rich and nutty flavours, and only selected expressions are finished in these rare casks. The Dalmore 25 is a fine example of the Matusalem Oloroso influence – and let’s take a closer look into the collection.
The Collection
Currently, the Dalmore collection is divided in two: The Principal Collection and Travel Exclusives. Beyond these categories are the limited editions, of which the distillery has a large archive, and at the moment such an expression is, for example, The Dalmore 40, which was released exclusively to the Baccarat Hotel in New York City in 2018.
The Principal Collection entails seven expressions ranging from around £52 to £832 a bottle. The most affordable of the range is also the youngest: The Dalmore 12 was for some time the only Dalmore expression on the market, and it’s, therefore, a kind of flagship. A brilliant one at that.
According to Paterson the 12-year-old expression has a character going far beyond its age, and it does indeed offer intricacy and finesse. It’s (of course) double-matured, and it showcases the signature notes of orange and chocolate in nose and palate along with a roasted coffee finish. With a slew of awards, such as a platinum award in the 2016 Spirits International Prestige Awards, the youngest release expressed itself beautifully.
King Alexander III is of course in reverence to the history of the Royal Stag, and it’s a most exquisite single malt. No less than six separate casks finishes are married together, and together they’ve created a rich, one of a kind flavour profile. The aromatic experience is one of the red berry fruits with a hint of passion fruit, whilst sweet and sour notes like citrus zest, vanilla pod, caramel and almonds are noticed in the palate. The finish has a spicy zing with notes of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. The expression has won a lot of prestigious awards – it was for example named the Best Single Malt at the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition in 2015.
Also known as the Fortuna Meritas Collection the Travel Exclusives range features four expressions. They’ve all been matured in casks of rare sherry – Valour and Dominium have both matured in Matusalem Oloroso casks, while Regalis matured in Amoroso and Luceo Apostoles sherry. As is indicated, these expressions are exclusively sold in travel retail outlets.
The Luceo is in reference to the Mackenzie clan’s motto, “Luceo Non-Uro”, luceo meaning ‘I shine’. According to Paterson this expression is a shining example of Dalmore’s relentless passion to curate and hand-pick only the finest and rarest casks.
Luceo offers a thoroughly complex aroma consisting of something as specific as Madeira cake soaked in cognac, but also tangy fruits and sweetness from treacle tart, almonds and praline chocolate. In the palate pistachios, plums, blood oranges, coffee, frangipan and Parkin cake are noted, and the finish is extraordinarily sweet with notes like maple syrup, Demerara sugar, gingerbread and sweet muscatel jump forward.
As mentioned, The Dalmore Distillery has a rather impressive and large history of limited edition collections and releases. A newer example of a limited collection is The Dalmore Constellation Collection, which was launched exclusively in Canada in 2015. The collection consists of four rage 1960s vintages:
Vintage 1963 (aged 46 years), Vintage 1966 (aged 45 years), Vintage 1969 (aged 42 years) and another Vintage 1969 (aged 43 years). The four expressions have been released varying between 67 and 237 bottles, and the set runs up to 140,000 Canadian dollars. As Whyte & Mackay adequately stated at the launch: The set is an investment.
For a collector, The Dalmore is a great investment and a wonderful find. Much of their collection is released exclusively to a certain market or a certain vendor, and as such, it can be a little tricky getting a hold of a part of the range. Which only makes it the more exciting – after all, who doesn’t love a good chase?
The ornate, beautiful and eye-catching bottles will certainly decorate whichever place they inhabit. The Dalmore produces collector’s items, although the whisky assuredly needs to be enjoyed.