Dalmore Quintessence

Tasting notes by Billy Abbott (TWE)

• Nose

  Soft spice and layers of yeasty bread and sweet cake: sponge, fruit loaf, dark and light fruit cakes, and rich and nutty German black bread. Rich vanilla notes of Portugese custard tarts are mixed with blackcurrants and blackberry jam. Nutmeg-spiced shorbread, liquorice, damp tree bark and touches of forest floor sit underneath.

• Palate

  Rich fudge and cinder toffee hit the palate first, slowly fading through spiced sponge cake and plump sultanas. The cakes from the nose come through in waves, along with marzipan and nutmeg-infused butter. Right at the back is a deep well of wine-cask flavour: blackcurrant jam, buttered toast and a hint of struck match.

• Finish

  Brown sugar, berry jam and freshly buttered bread.

• Comment

  Fruity, with the classic Dalmore richness and a complex array of berry flavours from the different casks. It's carefully blended and very well balanced, combining the casks' individual characters and creating a unified whole.