Last year, luxury scotch distillery the Dalmore launched its first Cask Curation Series. That inaugural collection focused on the distillery’s use of sherry-seasoned casks, an integral part of what defines the Dalmore ‘s character. The latest release, however, is a trio of whiskies that were finished in port barrels, another key element in the distillery’s maturation process.
We got an early taste of these three single malts and they are excellent. Each of the new whiskies in the Cask Curation Series Port Edition is a single barrel expression, meaning it comes from just one individual cask instead of a marriage of many, that was aged for several decades in bourbon barrels before being finished in carefully selected vintage port pipes. Specifically, those port barrels come from Symington Family Estates’ Graham’s Lodge.
The wood was chosen for its quality and character by master whisky maker Gregg Glass and master distiller Richard Paterson OBE, the latter of whom first came to Portugal in the 1970s. The details of the whiskies are as follows. The first is a 27-year-old single malt that was finished in a 1997 single harvest tawny port cask and bottled at 49.
3 percent ABV. On the palate, you’ll find notes of dark chocolate, fig, molasses, espresso, and toasted nuts. The next whisky is a 30-year-old that was finished in a 1994 single harvest tawny port cask and bottled at 43.
9 percent ABV. This is a rich, dessert-like whisky, with notes of raisin, plum, brown sugar, c.
