Tastes

Nose - Strong red berry notes on a backbone of an oak aged riesling/moscato, hints of pear peels, hint of grape fruit snacks. Taste - Nice red fruity berry sweet, caramel, sweet toasted brioche, gentle baking spice tingle, baked apples/pears. Finish - Lingering baked pear/apple sweet, hint of crushed red berries w/ seeds adding a bit of fruity bitter. Score - 87/100 Final Thoughts - I quite liked this one overall. Nose had a more "dark" feel and mouthfeel and taste seemed to match the 15 year age statement a bit better. More sherry influence throughout and no off-putting flavors. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

Nose - Sweet vanilla caramel, milk chocolate butter toffee. Taste - Light oak, buttery vanilla caramel, toffee, hint of cinnamon spice/burn. Finish - Lingering vanilla brown simple, hint of cinnamon spice, caramel sweet. Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - This falls right in the category of what I would give to people who ask what a "typical bourbon" tastes like. It has a nice balance of vanilla, caramel, with just a wisp of cinnamon. It's relatively low proof where it won't burn your nose hairs off and it won't kill your palate either. This particular single barrel has a nice balance of sweet and oak and nothing is off balance. It's a very run of the mill bourbon that is cheap enough where it's good enough to sip neat & you don't feel bad mixing it whatsoever. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe, if there weren't any other options Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

Nose - Rich, bold, fruity spice, leather, berry fruit leather, fruity/meaty/savory, mushroom/soy funk. Taste - Fairly thin, sweet/savory, soy & mushrooms, light salt/brine, savory fruit, dark chocolate, lightly tannic, light spicy tingle, musty mushrooms. Finish - Lingering savory/salty/fruity sweet, mushroom funk, sweet soy/teriyaki. Score - 60/100 Final Thoughts - I guess I'm just not a fan of Dalmore? You can definitely tell that there are some older whiskies in this blend, but it has this weird oddly sweet savory mushroom funk that is very off putting to my palate. Maybe Dalmore is meant to be enjoyed mostly with cigars as I can see how the sweet might be offset by some sweet smoky tobacco of a cigar? Regardless, this had this weird mushroom funk throughout that I typically wouldn't mind, but it just combines with this oddly weird soy/teriyaki like sweet that's just a bit off-putting to my palate. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Tropical vanilla, sweet grilled pineapple, fruity red berry syrup sweet, light milk chocolate, cherry/strawberry Twizzlers. Taste - Fairly thin, light oaky bitterness & fruity spice tingle, light bitter oaky vanilla, light red stone fruit sweet, hint of pineapple & banana. Finish - Lingering fruity spice tingle, fades fairly quickly, fruity oak bittersweet, more stone fruit pit bitterness. Score - 62/100 Final Thoughts - I had somewhat high hopes for this one as I've had their cask strength offerings and they were quite good. This one had an amazing nose and then apparently it just stopped there. The flavors were greatly muted and all I got overall was a general watered down bitter malt with a hint of tropical fruit. Quite a disappointment from their other offerings. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Sweet lightly smoky barrel aged pear cider, salt & black pepper, hint of sandalwood/cedar wood funk. Taste - Sweet spicy oak, lightly smoky pear cider w/ hints of salt, black pepper, hint of dried apricot, baking spices, light leather. Finish - Lingering black pepper & sea salt, light fruity smoke, light ashy fruit, hint of lightly off putting metallic. Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This is a nice non-offensive very lightly peated blended malt. Nothing overly complex about it but it's great to sip on and I could see this being used to mix some cocktails as well as it has a nice salty lightly smoky quality that would go quite well in cocktails. Not to mention the price is quite good for a 15 year blended malt. Probably best neat, but I could see this doing pretty well in a highball with a squeeze of lemon or in a whisky ginger. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Only if there wasn't anything else I wanted to try on the menu Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

2010 Bottling Nose - Dark fruity honey, grape fruit snacks, musty barrel funk. Taste - Fruity funky honey sweet, lightly tannic, white grape juice, light waxiness, tiny wisp of smoke tingle, barrel aged pear cider. Finish - Honey & grape fruit snack sweet, light spice tingle, light musty funk. Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite interesting compared to the standard 15. It added this odd waxy grape fruit snack component due to the Oloroso sherry finish. It masked the hay & bitterness I got from the standard release. The finishing was nice in that it added a bit of complexity to a fairly subtle base. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes, if I was in the mood for grape fruit snacks Would I buy a bottle? - Yes, if it was < $80

Nose - Honey, fresh hay, very floral, light bitter apple/pear peels/cores. Taste - Light honey glazed nuts, walnut skin bittersweet, malty, hint of ginger spice, floral white fleshed stone fruits, apple/pear peel/core bittersweet. Finish - Gentle spice, lingering fruity honey, hints of lingering apple/pear fruit/core bitterness. Score - 84/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite surprising although it fit my expectations for the dram. It packs a punch slightly above its proof but in general all of the flavors are pretty subtle and aren't very punch you in the face. They're actually quite balanced and I think this would be a great "beginner's" dram for those just getting into single malt Scotches. No real off putting notes or harsh flavors.

Nose - Salty sea ashy smoke, light citrus zest, sweet hay/grass. Taste - Ashy smoke, salty seaweed, soot, white pepper tingle, light citrus pith bitter. Finish - Lingering white pepper tingle, light salty ash, hint of iodine. Score - 74/100 Final Thoughts - So this seemed a bit boring to me and it had on a lighter level some of the characteristics of a peated Scotch that I don't like which is the iodine & rubber on the finish. This wasn't as punch you in the face as other peated Scotches I've tried but at the same time I think the saltiness of this one overpowers it quite a bit and leaves this lingering salty, almost msg saltiness that I'm not a fan of. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No