Tamdhu Dalbeallie Dram

Flashback three years ago. SDT was well into its journey. Extra samples were thrown in to share. @Generously_Paul, self-proclaimed Tamdhu’s number one fanboy, eponymous, generously shared this rare treat. I have not much exposure with Tamdhu, but my travel-mates have nothing but exceptional praise. Now, finally, I pull this from the depths… This is a sherried scotch for sure. However, this needs time to settle in and really reveal its nose. Raisins, jammy grapes, milk chocolate. Twizzler licorice, brown sugar, buttered whole wheat toast. Fruity and sweet. More time, oak, almonds and walnuts with cinnamon and nutmeg spices, subtly, hover and weave amongst the fruity sweetness. A plethora of aromas all moving and dancing together. Drawing on the dram, it enters velvety and slick. The bite you would expect and brace for does not appear. But what does appear. Rich and deep sherry and citrusy fruits. Cherries, oranges, dried pineapple and kumquats. Added to it is an earthiness of light coffee, matcha tea, black tea, dark chocolate, all with a touch of mineral. That bite that you braced for on the initial draw, bites at the start of the finish. The spininess crescendos and at it peak, blocks all remaining flavor. But it works it’s way down. Oak, cinnamon, dark chocolate and almonds, all drying with drying oak. Long lasting. A deepened sherried scotch. One of the deepest that I can recall. Glenfarclas or Macallan, but much more deeply rich. The high proof is undetectable and sips as at 48 abv or 50 abv. Balanced, rich, deep in aroma and flavor. I sat and contemplated this one and really came to a realization that what I expressed in words is only what I could relate or compare to, but there is so much more that I could not get to, find or expose. Another sample or two and maybe I could. Which only illustrates the complexity of this dram while retaining approachability. Now, if I only had a mild cigar, which would pair quite well. Thanks @Generously_Paul for this rare tasting sample that has sat in my backlog way too long. [95/100][Tasted: 6/4/21]

Here it is- the last dram I have a review for from our little Scottish distillery sample exchange. The Tamdhu Dalbeallie Dram was an extra pour from @Generously_Paul and on his recommendation I saved it until the very end. He loves him some Tamdhu, and I admit I’ve enjoyed every one I’ve had to this point. But this dram, well this one is special. It’s a cask strength offering that Tamdhu released as part of the Speyside Malts Festival. It’s a NAS, but boy can you sure tell there’s some old whisky inside here- and probably lots of it. It’s bottled at 62.1% and is a beautiful copper/Amber in the taster. Very oily with heavy legs and large, slow-forming droplets. The sherry cask hits you hard as soon as you start pouring it. The nose was hot cinnamon at first, but a little time really opened this thing up like a well written novel. Big time Oloroso sherry notes, grapes, nutmeg and roasted almonds all stood out. There was a great, fresh cut oak flavor permeating the entire dram as well. The palate was a showcase of beautiful, deep & rich sherry. There was also some chocolate notes that cut the heat at just the right time. It was still hot, cinnamon and peppers hot, almost unrelenting. But it burned so good. I immediately recalled a pour of the old Macallan Cask Strength bottle I had earlier this summer. It was intensely sherried, but you could just tell there was a lot of 18 year old (or possible older) stock used. It added depth and serious complexity to a hot and spicy dram. It was wonderful. This offering from Tamdhu does the same thing. Amazing stuff. The finish was long and blazingly hot. The sweet chocolate and sherry notes lingered on and on and finished with a hearty almond note, albeit quite dry. Overall, this is a wonderful Tamdhu- easily the best I’ve tried. I should’ve bought myself a bottle when I found these for Paul. They are long gone now and you’ll have to resort to scanning European auctions in hopes of landing one. It was a good deal at $170, too. The Macallan Cask Strength bottled are fetching $500+ on the secondary market and at auction now, too. Save yourself $200-300 and seek out a bottle of this. Sadly, there were only 1000 bottles created- so you’ll have to look high and low. But, trust me, you’ll love every drop of this fantastic scotch. This is a 5 star beast- no doubt. Thanks again, Paul. It was a heckuva way to put the SDT to bed. By my count- 106 different distillery samples and 60 mostly glorious bonus extras. What a trip it was! Cheers, my friends.

Full disclosure, I am a Tamdhu fanboy. I will buy everything they release following their rebranding after being sold to Ian Macleod from Edrington Group if it’s within my power (obviously the 50 year old for $20,000 is out of my price range). The Dalbeallie Dram is special bottle commemorating the Dalbeallie railway station that was built in Speyside that allowed for the movement of barley, people, coal and casks from Spain. Only 1000 bottles were released and I was lucky enough to land bottles 368 and 369. Bottled at 62.1% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of red mahogany rubbed with iron oxide. The nose is intense with rich Oloroso sherry, but does not lean too sweet. A very deep, dark profile. Red berries, raisins, brown sugar/molasses. Dark caramel and toffee, vanilla, oak, musty red grapes. Hardly any alcohol burn. Fairly floral and herbal with mint, slightly earthy and a Big Red gum punch in the nose. After a long time left to settle down, there are plums, allspice, dark chocolate and even some pineapple. Orange peels, almonds, tangerines and warm bread. Slightly bitter black tea, walnuts, nutmeg and blackberry jam. Water makes it more savory with richer caramel and more nutty. Cherries and licorice, both black and red. Apple pie, strawberries, banana peels, cinnamon and vanilla. The palate is an intense rush of sherry, both spicy and sweet. I was immediately reminded of Macallan Classic Cut. Walnuts, almonds, coffee, dark chocolate. Oranges, black Earl Grey tea, mint and cinnamon. Water brought out cherries, sherry saturated oak, a dark sweetness. Nutty like peanut brittle and very juicy. I decided to experiment and added enough water to bring on some scotch mist (which was more water than I expected) and it turns out that this dram does not hold up to that much water. It became more bitter than anything with mostly black tea notes, so a word to the wise, less is more here. A full bodied mouthfeel that is oily, hot at times and mouthwatering. The finish is very long with sherry, tea, walnut skins, slightly bitter/tannic with light cinnamon. This was a Herculean dram indeed. Not for the faint hearted. The sherry is so intense that I dare say it was almost too much...almost. It begs for water, but doesn’t always need it. The price point is high at $160 but I think that’s more indicative of is limited run and high collectibility status. This is not one that you can sit and sip all night, you will melt your face off. This is best taken 1oz at a time and only once or twice a week at most. Otherwise you won’t have any tastebuds left. Tons of flavor and lots of complexity. 4.75 and I’m glad I got to share it with my SDT cohorts @Scott_E, @LeeEvolved, @Telex and @PBMichiganWolverine Cheers

Lord almighty..this one packs a punch! It’ll grow some chest hair on you, gender agnostic. Imagine a huge orange cinnamon gateau. Then imagine topping it with more cinnamon. And some dark cherries. Now leap into it, face first. This one here ain’t for the faint of heart rose wine drinkers. You gotta let it sit for a while, and just have the juice calm down a bit. Then add some ice. Maybe one large one. Take that bad boy 62%ABV down a bit...it’s almost at that fiery Amrut Greedy Angles territory otherwise. Once you let it settle down, sit back and enjoy the deep sherry dark chocolate flavors. If I had to knock it a bit, I’d almost say it’s a tad over done...as if the chef fell asleep, and suddenly woke up smelling smoke coming out of the oven. If it was just a wee bit less in the cask (how often do you hear that?), this would’ve been amazing. Either way...cheers to @Generously_Paul for providing this rare treat...hardly 1000 bottles available, so I’m that much more grateful.