Even though the Creative Whisky Company no longer exists, their bottlings are still around and in quite some cases, still rather affordable. This one, even though it’s been out there for nine years and was well received, is still available in Germany for under € 70.

Back in the day I tried this one at some tasting here or there, and I remember being quite enthusiastic about it. And recently it popped up in a share somewhere and I got another sample, to see where it sits the better part of a decade later.

It’s from the ‘Exclusive Casks’ series by CWC, and that means that it’s a finished whisky. It also is a Dalmore, and those weren’t frequent back then, and they are less so now. The official bottlings are generally either pretty shit, too expensive, or both, so this is a nice surprise in that matter too.

Sniff:
Massive notes of oak. Fresh oak shavings, and spirity whisky. Alcohol, oak, light fruit and some puff pastry. Loads of barley, and it’s like old grass.

Sip:
Fresh oak, with a lot of white pepper. Quite some bite, with hay and straw, oak shavings, dead moss, mud.

Swallow:
Lots of spirit again,much more like the nose. Green barley, hay, grass.

That it is finished in a virgin oak cask is noticeable, but that it is European Oak at that I missed. Still, there’s quite a lot happening and it has a nice focus on the more spicy side of things. On the nose there’s some sweetness and while it’s not completely gone later on, it does get toned down a bit, and that’s a good thing.

A rather enjoyable dram, better than most Dalmores at this price point, so recommended because of that. It might not be the best representation of what Dalmore normally is about, though.

86/100