It’s time to revisit the entry level malt from another Highland distillery, the Dalmore 12. I originally reviewed this one about 2 years ago and I’m able to try this one again thanks to my friend Scott. This single malt spent around 9 years in ex-American white oak bourbon casks before being “finished” for 3 years in ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It comes in at a distillery-blended 40% ABV and I believe it has been chill filtered and has E150 color added to make it appear a deep, rich mahogany in the taster. The nose is pretty sweet, right from the start, with vanilla, raisins and sherry wine notes. There’s a nice awakening after 30 minutes of swirling that releases some spicier, Christmas cake aromas. I almost didn’t wait around for those, but I’m kinda glad I did. It smelled very one dimensional (sweet) up to that point. The palate begins innocent enough with some bittersweet chocolate covered orange wedges, then livens up with those spice cake notes and just a faint bit of oak barrel. It’s warming and smooth, but a tad too oily. It takes the overall mouthfeel to a point that it feels thick and tacky. The flavors are fine, it’s the feel that seems out of place. It doesn’t seem like whisky at this point. The finish is medium length with more chocolate notes overpowering the any resemblance of heat or power. It’s too much like a rich dessert- if there is such a thing. This needs more ABV in a bad way. Overall, it’s a very sweet and non-offending dram that a lot of beginners could really get behind, but most experienced scotch drinkers might think it’s over-engineered and tinkered with a bit too much. At least that’s my $0.02. It’s a middle of the road dram, 3.5-3.75 stars. Thanks again to Scott for letting me revisit this one. Cheers, fellas.