Jose-Massu-Espinel
Dalmore 12 Year Kyndal
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
March 26, 2021 (edited March 28, 2021)
Since i discovered the magic of whisky auctions back in 2020, two things have happened: 1.- i am the poorest man alive, y have spent way more than i can afford; and, 2.- i have been drinking some very good whiskies, way above the average.
Having said all that, this review is about the Dalmore Kyndal, a super rare 12yo expression of this distillery, which was given only to their workers on the 15 of october in 2001. Kyndal was a subsidiary company of Whyte & Mackay, who was responsible for Dalmore for a very short period of time. This special edition was never on sale to the public, but you know, i have my ways to get my hands on whisky ;)
Bottled at 40%abv, tawny color.
On the nose, it is one of the most appealing Dalmores out there, and to say that, is a lot. Super clean notes of raisins, figs, cherries, dehydrated oranges, super sweet and fruity really. Fruitcake, candied fruits and lemon. After a first sip, the aroma went crazy good, releasing maple syrup, coffee, chocolate and home made dulce de leche.
On the palate, it is a good dram, but it feels more like a transition to a great aftertaste. Very winey, oranges, very astringent. A second sip gave me caramel, toffee and condensed milk.
Aftertaste is amazing. Tobacco, dark chocolate, prunes, suphuric and salty. Really long and salty finish, that is something different on this Dalmore. Acid, dry.
Overall this is a great Dalmore expression, my conclusion is that distillery workers drink better than i do, lol. My score for this beauty is 94 over 100.
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@Jan-Case yes, i try avoiding that by doing research in whiskybase and wine searcher before bidding. and i always stick to my budget.
@PBMichiganWolverine yes, you have to work it around a little bit. before bidding i make my research if i can find the same bottle for a less price on wine searcher. what i usually do, is plan a budget and start discarding options when they go too high.
@ctbeck11 thanks!
@PBMichiganWolverine Yeah they charged buyers and sellers commission of 17.5% either way i.e. ~35%. Shipping in nz was super cheap. You don't get as much selling in NZ but you can get some cracker deals on ancient blends. got 60+ year mint blends for under $100
I buy on “auctions” occasionally too - but that for me means eBay. Of course I wouldn’t buy really rare and expensive bottles there but the more available bottles are well worth the risk. I heard horror stories of people receiving tea instead of whisky that they paid 1500 Euro for but with my few bottles I got on eBay I haven’t had any bad experiences at all and got whisky I usually wouldn’t have been able to get. The second way here in Europe is ‘Whiskybase’. They have a trade system, where the price of a bottle you bought is paid to a “parking slot” and only transferred to the seller after you received the bottle and marked it “ok”. There are thankfully ways but as Jose stated you most of the times pay a lot more than the original price.
I only bought once from auction...refuse to do it again. They fleece you on commissions and shipping. I get the commission part, but the shipping is outrageous. There’s a markup relative to retail on shipping
Great review. It’s so cool you were able to acquire this and share the experience on Distiller.