Dalmore 14 Year

On the nose sherry, orange, melon, dates, vanilla, toffee, charred oak, honey. Palate: charcoal, vanilla, dark fruits, oak, sherry cask. Balanced finish, barrel forward with some heat.

The Dalmore 14 is currently my favorite of the Dalmore line. Its affordable, flavorful and easy for introducing friends to Highland Scotch. It has a strong nose with notes of cinnamon, raisin, and fig. On the palate, it hits with cherry, red grape, apple, and spice cloves. The finish is one of cranberry, butterscotch, and pepper. Additionally, it has great legs on the glass when doing a tasting which is always fun to watch.

I’m tearing my way through the Dalmore core range. Here is the newest member to the lineup. 14 years old, aged in PX sherry casks—the latter of which is a departure from their standard use of Olorosso if I remember correctly. Let’s get right into it. Nose: Cranberry, raisin, date, and fig. Apple, apricot, and pear. Cherry and cola. Black currant. Plum and orange citrus. Milk chocolate, toffee, and vanilla. Cocoa. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Plum, raisin, date, fig, and cranberry. Milk chocolate, vanilla, toffee, malt, and orange citrus. Gala apple and red grape. Some pound cake and some chocolate/vanilla ice cream cake. Pear and apricot appear a bit later. Butterscotch. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Plum, grape, gala apple, raisin, fig, and date. Butterscotch, caramel, milk chocolate. Pear. Cranberry. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and oak. Moderate length. This is a very strong addition to the Dalmore lineup. Between this, the 12, 12 SS, Port Wood, and the 15, I think this is the winner of the bunch. At $100, this is a fine deal. Pedro Ximinez is an interesting wrinkle in the Dalmore lineup, which typically features Olorosso. I like how it interacts with the spirit. A welcome addition to the core range. 4.5/5.

Gifted this bottle but it seems to be a decent value for a 14yr of this quality. Nose is soft and sweet berry compote and tangerine with a drop of Aunt Jemima sitting on a freshly lacquered bench. There are some malt notes in the background if you search. Palate is rich and creamy with good depth. Maple candies melted down into black raspberry and orange marmalade lead the way. Figs/dates add support with a nice helping of leather and oak. Baking spices accumulate throughout the pour. Finish fades the dark fruit with walnut shells fringing on bitter. Just a touch of peat on the back end alongside a trailing maltiness. This is a step up from the 12yr and is very enjoyable. Flavors are flattened out and darker than many sherry finished scotches which can be bright. I would probably take Glendro 15 over this in price range but this is a worthy contender especially if you are a Dalmore fan..........89/100......just short of vaunted 4 star for me but worth a repurchase under $95

Sweet but not saccharine. Fruits flavors.