The Dalmore 2009 Vintage, Single Cask by Ian MacLeod, "The Eagle"

Dalmore is a distillery I treasure. I always seek out their new releases and, frankly, I've never understood the harsh critiques it often faces, though people do tend to give it grief because they frequently bottle their whiskies at 40% ABV. Well, an independent producer, Ian MacLeod, acquired a single cask of Dalmore from 2009 (which is rather difficult to do) and bottled it to satisfy some enthusiasts, at an impressive 59.3% ABV. Only 299 bottles were ever made available, for the Taiwanese Market, featuring a striking brown eagle label and a metallic container displaying an image of the same majestic bird in a very attractive manner. In the glass, it presents a reddish copper hue. On the nose, absolutely remarkable. It begins with the signature Dalmore orange character; then it reveals coffee, Brandy, and Chocolate. Candied apples, dried fruits, and cherry "brigadeiros." After an initial taste, the scent transformed into a fruit salad, very tropical. Kiwi, hazelnut, and cocoa. Allowing it to breathe longer provided a powdery, white cocoa note. A very sweet orange and apple pastry. On the palate, it had this AMAZING CHOCOLATE AND RED FRUIT FLAVOR; yes, in all caps. Touches of salt and chocolate. It feels simply spectacular, extremely sweet like white chocolate with maraschino cherries. A dessert resembling Ritter's white chocolate and coconut flan. The finish is all about ginger, wood shavings, chocolate, a very piquant yet pleasing Wasabi, and cherries. A great hint of orange peel too. Overall, this will contend for my top ten list this year. This may be the finest Dalmore I've ever had, and believe me, that's a significant declaration from someone who adores this distillery. Ironically, this isn't actually a distillery bottling, but it has demonstrated to me that when you aim to satisfy a crowd of cask strength aficionados like myself, Dalmore possesses a spirit capable of being bottled at a potent strength and still yield an incredible outcome. My rating for this is 100 out of 100, simply because I cannot award it a thousand points. Cheers!