Review #81 - Dalmore Cigar Malt

Cabernet Cask Mini-Series: Part 2 of 3

The second part of our Cabernet cask series will focus on Dalmore's Cigar Malt, made to be paired with cigars, as you might expect. There are actually a couple of variations on this theme - some distilleries create Cigar batches that are supposed to taste like cigars, while others create Cigar batches that are made to complement the flavors of a cigar. This malt is the latter.

This bottle had a special place for us originally - it was one of the more expensive bottles we purchased in the first couple of years of our whisky journey, and we waited to pop it open until an anniversary trip last year. After a neat tasting, we also gave it a try with some cigars to get the full experience - those notes will be separately described to show the interaction of the two flavor agents, and how it changed the experience (for us).

As well as the obligatory Cabernet cask aging for this series, this Dalmore also spent time aging in traditional ex-bourbon casks, as well as Matusalem ex-Oloroso sherry casks, so we're likely to have a somewhat exotic blend of flavors on our hands. Will all of those notes be able to shine through in the end, especially with a bottling strength that's a little lower than we would like for a quality presentation?

Dalmore Cigar Malt

Scotland/Highlands - Single Malt

Price Paid: USD 160 (2021)

Current Locally Available Price: USD 180 (2023)

Age Statement: NAS

Strength: 44% ABV

Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon, Matusalem Oloroso sherry, and Cabernet Sauvignon casks

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 2 months; bottles at 100%, 80% (with cigars), and 60% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Leather and plenty of sherry, it's rich and nutty and full of 'Christmas spice.' Decently fruity overall: some orange, juicy raspberry, some cherry and other sweet red fruit, but also dark dry savory fruit, like juicy prune and fig. There's also some baking spice here, and the whole experience sweetens slightly later; we get vanilla icing, very faint lemon, cinnamon sugar, cardamom, even some peppercorns. In the background, there's a slight bitterness from oak char, some wood smoke, and just a hint of sulfur.

Nose with cigar: This turns a bit sweeter, sort of dessert-like. Candied oranges, vanilla, and wood smoke come to mind, along with Aperol and a bit of red fruit.

Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thin, but there is just a little bit of heat, which combines with wood tannins and a hint of bitter sulfur to start the palate with a mild kick. There is some baking spice, like vanilla and clove and cardamom, but the star of this palate is fruit-type notes: sherry, sweet red wine, cherry, raspberry, and grape all come to mind. It turns darker and drier with raisin, fig, and prune later. There's a bit of pepper heat to go along with a whiff of wood smoke, and a nutty note as well, but at times, it can be slightly watery.

Palate with cigar: Sweeter again, with candy sugar, sweet sherry, and some juicy orange. There's more vanilla, and the oak is more prevalent.

Finish: It's a medium-long finish with light but warm Christmas spices and red wine/sherry influence. The spices again take the form of vanilla and cinnamon, though this is slightly creamier now, and generally sweet. We get raw nuts and orange, and later, just a hint of rich dark fruit.

Finish with cigar: The vanilla turns toward creme brulee, and the wine becomes raspberry and sweet blackberry. There's also a hint of a tobacco smoke on the back end.

Final Note: This is nice, a pretty solid sherried whisky with some decent fruit and spice flavor development. The addition of a cigar to the experience really seemed to bring out the sweeter vanilla and fruit notes from the whisky, and they complemented each other well. That said, the price here is a bit of an issue - when we originally bought this around $150-160, it was already a tough pill to swallow, but now we can't find it under $180. There are so many whiskies that you can get for that price or lower, and many of them with a lot more flavor and complexity; we probably wouldn't recommend this bottle at these sorts of prices.

Our Average Rating: 7.6 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 5.54