I’ve had this bottle sitting in my collection for probably the better part of two years. I paid a pretty high price for it (~ $240) and I was expecting it to be pretty phenomenal. It advertised an in-house mix of 6 different styles of wine cask aged single malt, which Dalmore mastermind Richard Paterson concocted, and was supposed to be the epitome of Dalmore’s core range. It’s a beautiful (color added) mahogany and produced a ton of huge, watery and fat droplets in the Glencairn. It was watery and oily, but still clings to the sides for quite a while after you spin it. I groaned when I thought about the ABV: 40%. Oh boy... The nose is super fruity. Lots of wine cask influence here: sweetness, sugary notes and overall vine fruit. There’s an ever present caramel and toffee creme candy note hanging around, but there’s a nice dry oak presence and even some berries coming through after a little bit of time. Pleasant enough to start. The palate struck me as overly watery the instant it hit my tongue. It felt like there was nothing clinging to my tastebuds whatsoever. A hefty sherry and raspberry note materialized and it turned the mouth feel rather velvety. Some weak woody notes formed a solid backbone, but there’s just no heat at all. The finish is short-ish with a light effervescent quality and a nice, fine oak feel. There’s still no heat and I have to declare this a dessert dram of the highest caliber. Nothing else springs up in surprise and there’s really no lingering notes. It washes away painlessly- unlike a lot of other Dalmore offerings I’ve had to this point. That’s where this one wins me over- after having had the 12, 15, 18 and Cigar Malt I always balked at the harshness on the finish. Well, it’s finally gone with the King Alex. Even though this one has to be considered a pure dessert whisky, it’s still damn fine. 4.5 stars- and although I can’t say the value for your dollar is there, I’m not going to dock points because of it. This is a classically great Dalmore. Cheers, my friends.