Colour: Dark, reddish amber.
Nose: Big sherried nose with overripe cherries, apricots and prunes. Sticky sweet maple syrup notes emerge, complemented by liquorice, brandy pralinés in dark chocolate, and a whiff of tobacco leafes. Extremely appealing!
Palate: Sweet start on the palate with loads of sherry. Turns sweeter with Christmas cake, cherries, and juicy treacle coated sherried fruit. This is followed by warm and spicy oak, cinnamon, fine marzipan and a wee touch of cloves. Dark chocolate. notes of tobacco and leather, and a delicate nuttiness lovely linger towards the finish.
Finish: The finish is very long, sweet, smooth and pleasantly warm. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, superbly mixed with nutty flavours, coffee beans, and a slightly herbal touch on the tail.
With water: Despite the presence of sherry, more yellow fruit is coming through with a few drops of water, especially apricots. Creamy with subtle spicy oak. The sweetness is increasing on the palate while the spiciness becomes slightly vibrant with oak, cinnamon and cloves. Chocolate, liquorice and tender nutty flavours in the back. The finish is still long with tamed sweetness, dry chocolate and expresso notes with slightly bitter tobacco notes towards the end.
Comments: A big sherry hit, intense and complex. An enticing nose with a very lush mouthfeel. Bottled at the right time, this maintains a perfect balance of distillery character, cask spices and fruity richness. So far this is the nicest Dalmore I've had in my glass - smooth, sweet, fruity, chocolaty, and lovely spicy. Very good whisky making indeed!

I thank Philipp Mischewski for the photograph!