Tasting note for the Dalmunach Inaugural Release

Dalmunach is a new(ish) distillery on the location of the old Imperial Distillery, which became part of the Lost Distilleries chapter when it got demolished in 2013. No chance to reopen that one. But the location is still the perfect site for a distillery. Dalmunach became one of the state-of-art workhorse operations for Chivas Brothers. The still house I hope to see one day with my own eyes. The setup, with 8 gigantic stills in a hexagon-like circle, must be a sight to see.

As is sadly the fate of workhorse distilleries (Dalmunach produces 10 million litres per year), there is little focus on the malt itself. The owner so far has only released three official bottles, all in the rather unassuming Distillery Reserve Collection. These 50 cl bottles are only available at Chivas visitor centre locations, like The Glenlivet or Aberlour. Luckily, my dear friend Noortje from Whiskylifestyle sent me a sample of the Dalmunach that we taste today. I never saw the bottle itself, but on Whiskybase it says it’s the Inaugural Release. If so, they did not make much fuzz about it. I cannot see it mentioned on the bottle.

Since Pernord Ricard, the parent company of Chivas, also owns The Whisky Exchange these days, their release of The Wulver, a 6 years old Dalmunach, can now also be categorized as an official bottling. This bottle I do own, since I have a weak spot for Dalmunach, but here there is also no banter of it being an Inaugural or at least a rare first. I guess, Dalmunach is not granted an official launch bottling. Maybe that is telling for how it is regarded… just one of the ingredients for a blended whisky.

Dalmunach 2014 “Inaugural Release”, bottled at 64,5 % abv

Makeup: Filled into bottle on 5 June 2019, after being distilled on 22 October 2014, this is indeed the first official release of Dalmunach (and not the 59 % abv version from one year later, as mentioned in the Malt Whisky Yearbook). Matured in a first fill barrel number 1301909, resulting in 349 bottles in the 50 cl size. The distilling date is right after the commissioning of the distillery.

General impressions: A typically pear and green apples influenced Speyside nose, which comes out of the glass quite easily at this strength. The glue that binds this whisky together is the obvious vanilla character. Makes for a fruity introduction. Taking a sip, it is not the suicidal experience that you would expect. It appears as a steaming hot apple pie straight out of the oven. Warm apple, with maybe a hint of wood spice posing as clove, and an overabundance of vanilla. All rather straightforward. We try to play with some water, but it is a delicate journey to perfection. 

Some yellow fruits emerge, but also a nice grassy character. The malt component shines bright. I have tasted similar styles from sister- and brother workhorses like Glentauchers, Miltonduff and Glenburgie.

Conclusion: A typical Speyside blend component that shines perfectly fine on its own too. Dalmunach stands up nice to exotic wood treatment, which I have tased with some independent bottlers. This naked version gives us the distillery character. It is bright, strong, fruity and pleasant.

Score: 83 points

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