Review No.205. Dalmore 15 Year Old

I tend to find that the online whisky community either mock Dalmore or are fans of Dalmore.  There are a few in between and I would class myself as one of them.  I liked the 12 year old version in the range and was keen to try this 15 year old version but not in rush due the price (approx. £65) and the fact that it is bottled at 40% and is probably coloured and chill filtered.  Anyhow, I got around to getting a sample of this one to see if it is worthy of its price tag.

Whisky: Dalmore 15 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, 40%

Nose: Tropical fruit, pineapple, leather, cherry menthol, malt, dry spice

Taste: Roasted nuts, sultanas, cinnamon, sweet chilli pepper, tobacco, oak

Finish: Dry, tobacco, mocha, oak

Score: 3

Summary: The 15 year old didn’t reach my expectations for price that it is currently being sold for.  This doesn’t develop much further from the 12 year old as I had expected but still carried some of pleasant leather, tobacco, dried fruit and spice notes that I enjoyed in the 12.  Even though it is bottled at 40% it does taste a bit stronger than that but also I picked up some alcohol heat and a bit of roughness to it. Overall this lacks the complexity I would expect at this price bracket and can think of many more interesting malts I would reach for at a lower cost.

Scoring scale: My scores reflect a balance of the overall experience, availability and cost for a whisky,

1 – not to my preference

2 – tastes fine but does not excite me

3 – more to my liking and would revisit occasionally

4 – very much to my liking and would consider as a regular feature on my whisky shelf

5 – permanent feature on my whisky shelf

Image source: www.thewhiskyexchange.com