The Dalmore Distillery was established in 1839 by a man named Alexander Matheson and is located in Alness, Scotland. The distillery is located in northern Scotland, thus the moniker “Single Highland Malt”.

The packaging is quite simple with a 750ml bottle adorned by the signature 12 point buck on the bottle and traditional style label.

The Dalmore Single Highland Malt has a marvelous, rich amber hue that you can only hope tastes as good as it looks. The aroma is quite strong and actually belies its taste. Stick your nose in a bell shaped glass and your eyes might actually water up before the scotch hits your lips. Surprisingly, the taste is not nearly as strong and I found it quite pleasant with subtle undertones of vanilla and caramel. It is a fairly strong whisky and the taste improves significantly with water. I recommend trying it straight up for full effect the first time around and then add a generous portion of water for the second go of it. You’ll find that the flavor becomes easier to discern. The finish is long and warming and you can almost feel the heat spreading throughout your body.

The Dalmore 12 Year Old Single Highland Malt is a bit of a paradox. While the aroma and feel are quite intense the flavor and finish are quite smooth and subtle. This is your quintessential Scotch whisky and should appeal to just about anyone who likes a good single malt. To sweeten the deal even further, a bottle of Dalmore 12 year old scotch will run you about $35.00. This makes it the perfect single malt for those of us who like to drink, but don’t like to pay for it.

Oban was the first single malt scotch I ever tried and for this it will always occupy a special place in my heart. That first sip of single malt goodness was many years ago and since that fateful first sip I have made it a point to never buy the same scotch twice. I have in essence become scotch hobo, bouncing (virtually) from one distillery to the next; a veritable whisky vagabond. At the Aleppo Smoker a few weeks back, I had a sip of the Oban again to see if perhaps my memory was making more of it and than it actually was. That tasting brought me home and back to earth at the same time. I bought a bottle the very next day. After all, rules are made to be broken.

Most of the single malts I have reviewed on the site, to date, have come from the Speyside region of Scotland and Oban is my first from the west coast of Scotland. The distillery is located smack dab in the middle of the coastal resort community of Oban; called the “Gateway to the Isles”. While officially considered a “Highland” variety; Oban, much like the town is more of a “Gateway to Islay Malts”. It is in essence a well balanced blend between the Speyside and Islay varietals of single malt scotch. I still remember going through the most convoluted, unscientific selection process nearly ten years ago when I selected my first bottle of single malt scotch. I was immediately drawn to the simple, historic feeling of the packaging. It was clean, simple, and just had that look of “We’ve been doing this a while and we know what the hell we’re doing.” When I read that the malt master was a MacDougall (My Mother’s maiden name) I took it as a sign and put my $55.00 down on the table. When I pulled the bottle out of the tube, I was stunned by the beauty of the golden liquid inside and that color has since been my benchmark for what a good single malt should look like. It is unfair, I know, but such is life.

This is one complex single malt with a lot of things going on at once. The nose is fragrant and sweet, but it is also telling you to look for smoke coming from the bottle. That there will be two sides to every story your senses will tell throughout the tasting. The body is full and substantial, but it is quite smooth and rich. The palate is warming and the overall taste is substantially more malty and smoky than the other single malts I have reviewed (except the Ardmore perhaps). The finish, on the other hand, is fruity, smooth, and quite long. In fact, it is without a doubt my favorite part. The Oban 14y is still my favorite single malt, but I will say it isn’t quite as legendary as my memory had built it up to be. Still it is a mighty fine scotch and one I would recommend to just about anyone.

This past Christmas, my wonderful wife bought me a bottle of Balvenie DoubleWood. DoubleWood is a 12 year old single malt Scotch whisky that is matured in two distinct casks throughout the life of its maturation process. It starts its journey from malt to whisky in a traditional American oak bourbon whisky cask and is then transferred to a Spanish oak cask that has been previously used to age sherry. The traditional whisky cask makes sure the DoubleWood grows up to be a fine, upstanding Scotch, while the sherry cask acts as a finishing school designed to add depth and character.

The Balvenie Distillery of Banffshire, Scotland has been owned and operated by the same family since its founding in 1892. They pride themselves on being the last distillery in the Scottish Highlands to grow their own barley, use traditional floor maltings, and maintains their own coopers and coppersmiths. The company steeps itself in its heritage and that is never more apparent than when you visit their unique and informative web site at www.thebalvenie.com.

Balvenie gets some serious extra credit for including a fantastic pamphlet from the malt master. It briefly touches on the history of the distillery, the Scotches they produce, as well as a great primer on nosing and tasting. If there is a reason why this review will be of higher quality than any of my future reviews, this pamphlet is the key. I resisted the urge to read too much of the pamphlet before I started tasting, but it was extremely valuable in filling in the blanks.

At first glance, DoubleWood has a very pleasant amber hue that is rich and deep, but not too dark. There is no denying the uniqueness of Balvenie DoubleWood the minute you take a nice long whiff. The aroma is noticeably sweet and fruity and there is a slight hint of vanilla and honey. This Scotch is smooth and sweet with a lot of different flavors going on all at once. Right off the bat, your hit with a taste that is both nutty and spicy, without it being too sharp or punchy. The finish is warm and long enough to let you down nice and easy.

Balvenie DoubleWood is probably the most accessible Scotch I’ve ever had, and that doesn’t mean its weak. Balvenie DoubleWood is a nice change of pace from your traditional single malt.