Official vs 3x Indy | Various ABV

We All Start Somewhere

2026 has come charging out of the gates on every front: family, work, social events… and the weeks have been absolutely flying by. I genuinely can’t believe - at the point of writing - we’re already knocking on mid-April’s door.

Like everyone else, I’ve only got so many hours in the day, so the priorities write themselves: family first, and then work because - inconveniently - the bills don’t pay themselves and prioritising family also means ensuring the fridge is stocked.

And yet, while the diary fills up and life barrels along, the wider world refuses to pause for breath. The news cycle is relentless, spotlighting multiple horrific wars across the globe - a sobering backdrop to the everyday. It’s impossible not to feel grateful where our own families, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances aren’t facing that immediate physical danger.

Even from a distance, those events ripple into our lives - sometimes directly, often through the economy and the general sense of uncertainty that hangs in the air. We can’t influence world events on a day-to-day basis, of course, beyond making our mark at the ballot box; for those of us fortunate enough to live somewhere that choice is protected.

As for me, my whisky obsession has definitely had to ride a little further back in the priority train during 2026. That’s not to say the drams have stopped - they very much haven’t - but there’s been less Dramface writing, and fewer of the social whisky moments I’d normally try to squeeze in. Still, there’s plenty of the year left, so let's see what the next chapters bring.

Surely whisky is, at heart, gloriously subjective. I like it or I don’t. You like it or you don’t. Sometimes there’s a delicious middle ground – where a dram you didn’t “get” at first slowly wins you over, sip by sip. I’m less convinced about the reverse (starting to loathe something you once adored)… but if you’ve got a tale that proves me wrong, I’m all ears.

Dalmore is a great example of a distillery that people always have an opinion on. It isn’t exactly a darling among seasoned whisky drinkers: too much colouring, too much dilution, and (for some) too much plastic stag posturing on the bottle. But for me? Dalmore 18 was the gateway dram – the one that hauled me headfirst into the whiskyverse – and I still have a huge soft spot for it and a genuine curiosity about the distillery’s output. I wrote more on that in my review for it.

But while 2026 has been busy, for me it has also been a busy year for some non-official Dalmore to appear.

Review 1/4

Alness 12yo, Thompson Bros Blended Malt Scotch whisky, heavily peated Dalmore and Teaninich, 50% ABV
£60 - £65 and still some availability

I was genuinely excited when I saw this bottle trailed by Thompson Brothers in their monthly release video on YouTube, back in February. From then on, my eyes were peeled waiting for it to launch. Dalmore and Teaninich are two of my favourite distilleries, so the idea that they had been blended immediately piqued my interest.

This blend combines a fairly rare, heavily peated 13-year-old Dalmore, with the lighter Teaninich to produce a batch of 800 bottles. The bottler tells us that a bit under 10% of the blend is made up of the Dalmore – a spirit they refer to as crazy juice (if that sounds of interest, read down to the Cadenhead’s). The Teaninich comes from first fill bourbon barrels.

This is non-chill filtered and natural colour.

Score: 8/10

**Something special.**
***TL;DR***
*Possibly the best blend I have ever had*

Nose

The nose is immediately giving off maltiness and sweet vanilla but there is also fruit, specifically apples and pink grapefruit. There is the absolute softest waft of peat coming through, but I feel you need to search for it, it’s hidden.

Overall, pleasant and seemingly bourbon barrel consistent, nothing spectacular.

Palate

This is a - dare I say - smooth and well put together dram. It’s a bit sweet with vanilla, apples and a dose of caramel. There are tropical notes together with some zesty orange notes and some oak wood flavour, but it doesn’t sing of a standard bourbon barrel dram. It’s more complex.

Mouthfeel is robust and very mildly drying. Peat comes in towards the end with a warmth that hangs about for a really long balanced finish. I really wondered at one point if there was going to be peat, but it arrived late to the party and was noticeable.

The Dregs

This was great, smooth and balanced but complex and interesting. Before the first bottle was finished, I had another ordered, actually before the first was halfway down. This is an absolute bargain, a steal at £65 (or £60 as I paid for the second bottle).

In the YouTube release video for this, the Thompson Brothers made reference to having to be careful just how much of the Dalmore they added, I would possibly like to try it with a bit more and I may use the Cadenhead’s release below to make that come about.

Score: 8/10

Review 2/4

Dalmore 16yo, Cadenhead’s Club bottling, peated Dalmore from a single bourbon barrel, 210 bottles, 57.7% ABV
£130 and only available via Cadenhead’s Club

I haven’t really bought many Cadenhead’s releases, I only have a few and this is the first club bottling I have ever bought from them, but when I saw the email come through for this, I knew I had to try it. 16-year-old peated Dalmore from a Bourbon Barrel with only 210 bottles released. Sign me up.

Peated Damore isn’t something I have tried before this year. Checking online I can see that the Dalmore Luminary No.2 2024 Edition (16-Year-Old) was a rare official bottling featuring peated Dalmore spirit albeit it seems not much.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*One of the biggest blasts of peat I have encountered*

Nose

There is a degree of fresh apple and citrus with a bit of vanilla on the nose, but you have to work to find it, the overwhelming nose is peat smoke

Palate

It’s packing a peaty punch from the minute it touches your lips. Yes, it does have some vanilla, some caramel and honey, a bit of orange and some apple. There is a bit of sweetness to it as well as an element of salinity, but overall, it is a peaty monster.

It isn’t oily or mouth drying, it is almost creamy, but it is clearly packing a punch at 57.7%.

The finish is long but the peat aspect to it calms really quickly and just leaves a low level, really present hint of lingering peat with a low-level warmth.

The Dregs

I really don’t think I expected the intensity of this, it was not obvious from the nose what was about to come thundering out of that Glencairn, and boy did it come storming out. This is so heavily peated, it is reminiscent of an Islay malt, possibly even verging on Octomore.

Having sipped it in a comparison to an Octomore 12.3 my initial thoughts on how intense the peat was were slightly misguided, it is still a good bit below the intensity of the Octomore, but it is getting there.

For some this peat would be overpowering, there is no point pretending otherwise, so don’t go near this if you don’t like the heavier end of peat intensity.

Score: 7/10

Review 3/4

Dalmore King Alexander III, Official bottling, bourbon, sherry, madeira, marsala, port & red wine casks, 40% ABV
£260 retail and wide availability

This bottle was a gift from a dear friend early in my whisky journey, bought precisely because he had known of my fondness for Dalmore 18 year old. I can’t bring myself to use the marketing speak of the “The Dalmore”.

I actually know very little about King Alexander III. He became king in 1249 when he was seven years old, and he married at 10. At that point many of the Scottish Islands were controlled by Norway. He defeated the Norwegian fleet at Largs in 1263 and gained control of the Western Isles in 1266. Having looked into this I now realise I should have known this, having grown up just five miles from Largs and having been dragged to the Viking festival there every year as a kid, I should clearly have educated myself better.

At 40% you know it has been chill filtered, and you also know looking at it that the colour is too deep to be natural.

The distillery website tells us that this is made up of a selection of small batch Bourbon casks, Matusalem Oloroso Sherry casks, Madeira casks, Marsala casks, Port pipes and Cabernet Sauvignon wine barriques.

Score: 4/10

**Some promise.**
***TL;DR***
*Look, it’s pretty average and not worth the price*

Nose

The nose is nice if possibly boring when you start, I’m instantly getting loads of caramel which makes me immediately wonder if that’s coming from the caramel colouring – I don’t think it is, but the colour of the liquid takes me there.

Alongside that, there is actually quite a bit going on in the nose when you probe it. There is a lot of fruit (cherries, apple, orange peel, dates) in it together with vanilla and a hint of pipe tobacco. The Madeira is noticeable as is the sherry influence.

Palate

Likewise, caramel is as noticeable as the sherry influence which is quite sweet. There are hints of dark chocolate together with cherries and blackcurrant and some elements of wood. There is a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg spiciness but not enough and the madeira is non-existent on the palate.

It doesn’t taste as thin as I thought it should, given the strength, but has a short length and very little warming on the palate. It isn’t drying or oily.

The nose has more complexity than the palate.

The Dregs

So, it’s probably a bit on the boring side. Which is where I think Dalmore have, entirely intentionally, engineered it to be. They have aimed for ‘smooth’ as the core tasting note and been really successful in achieving it. So top marks on that.

It isn’t unpleasant in any way, it’s rich and caramelly and probably tastes a good bit above what it should at 40% ABV, it’s not a weak, watery whisky.

As with most official Dalmore, we are left wondering just how good this might be without the colouring and the filtration and at a higher ABV.

The price is also prohibitive, there is much better Dalmore available for less, though admittedly you won’t get a cool plastic stag on the bottle.

Score: 4/10

Review 4/4

Dalmore 10yo, James Eadie , The Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland, small batch from first-fill bourbon barrels, 556 bottles, 52.7% ABV
£83 paid, now sold out

This is part of the James Eadie series on The Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland which is a series of bottles under the same name as the book they released.

This is a ten-year-old single malt distilled at Dalmore Distillery before being matured in first fill bourbon barrels, it’s a small batch with only 556 bottles available, I can’t find any still available online at the point of writing.

This James Eadie Bottling is a prime example of one that I didn’t take to on the first pour, but to say it won me over would be an understatement.

On my first sip of this I was not impressed at all. I had been enjoying lots of bright, clean spirit from bourbon casks previously and to me the neck pour on this screamed of dullness, bitterness and lack of flavour.

But, left a few days and tried again, and then left and tried again, it has won me over.

Score: 8/10

**Something special.**
***TL;DR***
*Terrific stuff*

Nose

It’s not a hugely nuanced nose, it is a fresh bourbon cask nose with loads of stewed apple, orange, citrus and what seems like cream to me. There is a bit of cinnamon spice and gingerbread.

Palate

The palate is gorgeous, loads of apple, pears, melon, some apricot together with vanilla. There almost seems to be a hint of custard and oatmeal. There’s an underlying level of orange towards the back of the dram.

It is a bright and easy dram, with a medium density and a long finish, with gentle spice.

It doesn’t present like a 52.7% dram in any way. Caution needed.

The Dregs

I was actually incredibly pleased to get a Dalmore of this quality. For anyone that likes a bourbon cask this is a great bottle. regardless of the distillery.

I would also say that the writing on the back of the bottle is so small, most people over forty will struggle to read it.

Score: 8/10

The Final Dregs

There is great liquid being produced at Dalmore, I for one would like to see a lot more of it without the caramel colour, the dilution and the chill filtering that the dilution brings. If that means it needs to be through independent bottlers, then that is just the way it has to be. Having never had IB Dalmore prior to this year and getting (almost) three in quick succession this has very much been the high point of my bottle buying, so far, for the crazy year that is 2026.

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. CC

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