Adelphi Limited Dalmore 1998 21 Years Old

Style: Sweet and Spicy

Rating: ☆+ [Recommended]

Nose:

Deep confectionaries condensed at the front embraced by the softest copper hue. Apricots, strawberry and watermelon notes reduced to quite a jammy texture. Elderflower, wild herbs, cotton candy and assorted berries yoghurt. Then in comes a splash of chilli water, cumin and even some curry powder pitted against the sweetness. Baked white fruits dressed on top of a semi-baked flour dough at the back. Sweet and sharp.

Palate:

Similar to what the nose has suggested. Jammy notes sided with an increasingly prominent copper tone. Apricots, pineapple chunks, Turkish delights, musk sticks and some strawberries again. Green herbs slowly going to an overdrive which leads to a massive spearmint spike in the middle. Vanilla applies softly on malt and barley. Cardamom, vanilla pods, pepper, nutmeg and sawdust gathering some bitterness in the background. Blackberry yoghurt and lemon curd echoing in the high skies, more cereal touches to finish.

Finish:

Light sherry cream cooking up a nice and slow reflux. Strawberry jam on honeycomb. Delicious.

Thoughts:

Not often you get to see an IB Dalmore in the wild, let alone a sherried one (or so I assumed, didn't check). This Dalmore is surprisingly technical on the sweetness which is not quite obvious on the surface. It feels there are numerous balanced interactions between the make, oak and the sherry to create an array of fascinating tertiary notes for you to explore. Maybe just slightly too dry at the back for my liking, but a fine dram nonetheless.

[57.2% | Independent Bottling | 1998 Distilled | 2019 Bottled | 132 Bottles | Cask Number: 8217 | Natural Cask Strength | Single Cask | Non Chill Filtered | *+]

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