The Dalmore Releases Rare 51 Year Old Whisky

To mark its 180 Year Anniversary, The Dalmore unveiled a 60 year old whisky in December 2019 to reflect the brand’s “enduring legacy of the distillery, its pioneering spirit and restless pursuit of the perfect whisky”. Celebrations have since continued, with The Dalmore showcasing their first release of the decade: The Dalmore 51 Year Old. Distilled in 1966,  this unique single malt has been meticulously crafted to showcase The Dalmore’s excellence at creating vibrant, complex, full bodied malts that have been aged for extended periods. Only the most exquisite casks have been chosen to create this whisky, starting its journey in ex-bourbon casks before being apportioned between prestigious Port Colheita 1938 casks, exclusive Matusalem sherry casks and first fill bourbon casks; brought together in specially selected bourbon barrels for its final flourish. Richard Paterson, Master Distiller at The Dalmore, commented: "The Dalmore 51 Year Old is a noble single malt of rare profundity and it has been my pleasure to closely follow its maturation over five decades. I am always looking towards the future and I carefully consider how each distillation will evolve, moving our spirits to new wood to transform their conclusion. The Dalmore 51 Year Old is a fine example of this." Paterson, who has been the creative force behind the brand for over fifty years, joined in 1970. He has developed a fearsome reputation for the curation of exquisite casks, sourcing exceptional casks from the world’s finest bodegas and wineries to craft different expressions. Despite having an exceptional number of landmark achievements under his belt, Paterson shows no signs of stopping anytime soon - his restlessness in finding the ‘perfect whisky’ is what makes The Dalmore endlessly interesting for whisky drinkers across the globe. As for The Dalmore 51 Year Old itself, only 51 decanters (fitting!) of this unique expression have been created, with 40 bottles already sold to a private collector. Fans of The Dalmore around the world will have access to purchase the remaining 11 decanters from February 2020 with only three of them being sold within the UK market. Luckily for The Whisky Shop, we managed to get our hands on a bottle which has been displayed in our Piccadilly branch. We’ve already seen quite a number of passers-by doing a double-take when walking past this beautiful bottle. The Dalmore 51 Year Old is presented in a beautiful crystal decanter with both a crystal stopper and metal transit stopper. Each bottle features an engraved age statement and neck label highlighting the year of distillation and one of fifty one bottles. The decanter is presented in a coffret case which is crafted from black sycamore wood, is adorned with the iconic stag in Sterling silver and is accompanied by a leather carry handle. Within leather finishing ensures the bottles safe keeping and elegant display, with tasting notes enclosed.

Tasting Notes

Colour

Rich mahogany gold with intense copper highlights.

Nose

Liquorice stick, Napoleon cake laced with Black Morello cherries, Old English marmalade and faint whispers of Modena Balsamic and Oloroso sherry. These enticing aromas are bolstered by brooding roasted Java coffee, moist fruit cake covered in icing sugar, Brioche dipped in Manuka honey and pecan pie. There is a finale of creamy caramel, black molasses and Doyenne pears soaked in aged tawny port.

Taste

This indeed is a treasure chest of pure liquid gold as this iconic timepiece boasts plums, succulent sun kissed raisins, ginger cake sprinkled with Demerara sugar and Madagascan vanilla pod.. A final rhapsody of treacle sponge covered in hot chocolate, freshly baked wholemeal toast, pineapple and sweet sultanas harmoniously drift away on the aftertaste. As only one bottle is available, The Dalmore 51 Year Old will not be available for online purchase. For all enquiries please email [email protected].