Founded in 1839 the distillery chugged happily along until the early part of the 20th century. In 1910 it stopped production due to a downturn in whisky drinking and in 1914 it was taken over by the British Admiralty as a mine production facility until 1920 when it again reopened, underwent refurbishment until 1921 and began to produce whisky again. Like most distilleries The Dalmore was sold a number of times before ending up in the Whyte & Mackay stable and is now used in all of their blends. Comprised of 8 stills with unusual water cooling of the still neck, the size was doubled from 2 stills to 4 in 1874 and from 4 to 8 in 1966. One of the water jackets from the 1874 upgrade still is in place and functioning. This may be the oldest distillery item still in use in all of Scotland. Also, The Dalmore had a first when on New Year's Eve, 1999, staff of Dalmore and their families gathered at the distillery to see in the new year and to produce what was very probably the first scotch whisky produced anywhere in the Third Millennium.
A bomb from Jonsey brought another bottle of The Dalmore 12 to my shelves. How he knew I had finished my last one a scant two weeks earlier is beyond me. After a superb pot roast dinner courtesy of the wife, it was time to park my butt down and have a nice dollop of this scotch in my glass. The Dalmore, while obviously being a sherried malt, is not 100% aged in sherry casks but rather 70% American ex-bourbon barrels and 30% Oloroso Sherry casks from Gonzalez Byass. This gives it the deep clover honey gold color that is apparent when you take the bottle out of the box. The nosing has always reminded me of oranges whilst the sherry and malt surround that fresh scent. Tasting brings about a multitude of flavors as it hits different parts of the tongue. The orange is there along with honey, malt, spices and a touch of oak. The finish is fairly long with sweetness on the sides of the tongue and dryness on the roof of the mouth. Anise shows up near the very end to let you know it is time for another sip. All in all a very good buy in the world of scotch and one I can recommend without hesitation.
