Dalmore – 13 Year Old 2005 SMWS 13.76 Stag Au Naturel 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel (70cl)

This is a 13 year old Dalmore, a Highland single malt distilled in 2005 and bottled in 2019 by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society as cask 13.76, named Stag Au Naturel. It comes from a single first fill bourbon barrel, with 128 bottles drawn, in a 70cl bottle. The nose is full of baking and sweetness: iced gems, rich tea biscuits, powdered custard, ginger root tea with lemon and mint, and pistachio olive oil cake. The palate moves to chicory with walnut oil, lemon posset and sugar-almond shortbread. With water, Battenberg cake, jammy flapjacks and pineapple cake appear, and the whisky puts the spotlight on the spirit itself.