The Dalmore Port Wood Reserve Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL, 46.5%, Finished in W&J Graham Tawny Port Pipes

The Dalmore Port Wood Reserve: Graham's Port Pipes on Highland Malt

The Dalmore distils at Alness in Ross-Shire on the Cromarty Firth, and the Port Wood Reserve is the expression where they hand the whisky to a Port house. It matures first in American white oak, then a portion is re-racked into tawny port pipes from W&J Graham, one of the great Douro shippers, before the parcels are married back together and bottled at 46.5% ABV (93 proof).

Two details worth knowing. First, 46.5% is meaningfully above the 40% floor most Highland malts sit at, and on a port-finished whisky that extra strength is what keeps the fruit from turning syrupy. Second, tawny port pipes rather than ruby: tawny is oxidatively aged, so the casks carry nuttiness and dried fruit rather than the jammy red-berry character a ruby cask would give. That is why this drinks like a dessert whisky rather than a sweet one.

The Port Wood Reserve carries no age statement, which on a cask-finished whisky matters less than usual, because the finish is doing the work rather than the years.

The silver stag on the bottle is the Dalmore's mark. The distillery's own telling is that the Mackenzie clan earned the right to the twelve-pointed royal stag in 1263 after Colin of Kintail saved King Alexander III from a charging one. Whether the history holds up, the emblem has been on the bottle a very long time.

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Ratings

• 84 out of 100, The Dramble

Tasting Notes

• Nose: Blackberry and blackcurrant over apple peel, raisin and fig, with the port spices arriving as cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Creamy toffee, creme brulee and vanilla underneath.
• Palate: Syrupy on arrival. Rum soaked raisin and prune, black fruit preserve, dark chocolate and a note of cola, then vanilla custard before the spice builds into cinnamon, white pepper and charred oak.
• Finish: Quite long, and more earthy than expected, with cinnamon, tingling pepper and charred oak.

How to Enjoy

• Neat first: at 46.5% it is balanced as poured.
• Then a few drops of water: water genuinely changes this one, softening the spice and bringing out milk chocolate and citrus peel. Worth trying both ways in the same sitting.
• After dinner: the port casks make this a natural end-of-meal whisky. It handles dark chocolate and dried fruit better than it handles a cigar.
• Gift idea: the stag and the purple livery make it look like more money than it costs, which is not the worst quality in a gift.

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Product Details

• Distillery: Dalmore Distillery, Alness, Ross-Shire IV17 0UT, Scotland
• Style: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, no age statement
• Maturation: American white oak, with a portion re-racked into W&J Graham tawny port pipes, then married
• Strength: 46.5% ABV (93 proof)
• Bottle Size: 750mL
• Imported by: E&J Gallo Spirits, Healdsburg, California
• Shipping weight: 5 lb

Note: Product images are for illustrative purposes only. Label and packaging may vary.

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⚠️ 21+ Only

Adult signature required upon delivery. Available where permitted by law. Please drink responsibly.

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