Dalmore Port Wood Reserve

So porty it hurts, but so smooth C’esr Bonne!

Definite port on the nose and subtly sweet on the palate

We recently went to a Dalmore vertical tasting hosted by Ben Boice, the brand's US ambassador. This is the newest addition to the lineup, and Ben informed us that the average age of the whisky here is about 15 years. There’s obviously much younger juice in here, however, because if they could put 15 on the bottle, I guarantee that they would have. Its nose exhibits an alluring mixture of chocolate syrup (think ice cream sundaes with Hershey’s sauce) and clay. The palate has more grip than I expected, and is appreciably thicker than the comparatively watery 12- and 15-year expressions. However, it’s so sweet and sugary that I couldn’t imagine myself having a full 2-ounce pour, much less a second glass. This scotch rounds out nicely with dried apricots, raspberries, some graham cracker, and toasted oak. This is probably $20 too expensive, and lacks ideal balance, but at least it has a distinctive personality.