Cigar Malt Reserve

The Dalmore Cigar Malt version, which disappeared in 2009, makes its comeback in 2012 in a slightly different version. This time older than the Dalmore 15 year old version, richer and sweeter at the same time, Cigar Malt Reserve is triple matured in ex-sherry casks (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and American white oak (20%). It is nevertheless the ideal version for cigar lovers.

Style: Fulland rich
Nose: Rich. Notes of toffee
Palate: Ripe fruit and marmalade
Finish: Long. Orange peel and bergamot.

The distillery :

Ask any whisky lover where the Dalmore distillery is located. Very few will be able to point to Black Isle, which is in the Highlands, about two hours north of Inverness. Located in Alness, the distillery faces it. From this "island", in reality a peninsula, Hergé only borrowed the name. The island depicted in one of Tintin's most famous adventures is none other than the island of Arran. As for the famous Captain Haddock, he was more into blending than single malt and he did not make Dalmore his favourite dram.

Perhaps the new visitor centre opened in 2004 will give the distillery and its nectar the publicity and renown that both deserve. Its meticulously maintained Victorian architecture gives it a delightfully old-fashioned feel, with pink granite walls softening the austerity of the slate roofs.

For almost a century Dalmore was owned by the Mackenzie family, who sold it in 1960 to friends who owned the Whyte and Mackay blending company.

The stag's head that adorns each bottle of Dalmore is borrowed from the Mackenzie clan's coat of arms. Whisky lovers who are regulars at trade fairs cannot dissociate Dalmore from the flamboyant seminars of its charismatic ambassador Richard Paterson, who likes to pair old Dalmore with great coffee or chocolate.

A perfect match for a single malt marked by the influence of carefully selected sherry casks, like the Dalmore 30 Year Old, 1973 Gonzalez Byass Finish. In 2005, a bottle of Dalmore 62 Year Old was sold at auction for a cool £32,000, making it the most expensive whisky in the world at the time. The buyer, the owner of the Pennyhill Park Hotel in the south of England, opened the bottle and shared it with his best customers. Now that's what we call hospitality!